On Saturday evening, we went to Descanso Gardens to hear a concert, the first one of their series, Silence. It sounded like an interesting premise, so we went. It was mostly electronic music, layered on top of each other so that the melody would morph into something really different, but not all at once. It became apparent that I would need to listen with “different ears,” meaning, my usual way of listening to music following motives, forms, keys, rhythmic interest, wasn’t cutting it. I finally gave up and just let the music wash over me, and that worked! I also began to notice the smells and sounds of the garden, which added a lot to my enjoyment.
It was definitely out of my comfort zone.
I then thought about how often we ask students to leave their comfort zones to try out new ideas, thoughts, experiences, and they do it! It’s not so easy, but important for all of us! I am grateful for my unusual concert experience and I hope that each of you find an interesting thing to do this week that’s out of your own comfort zone!