What Skills Have You Sharpened During The Pandemic?

During the recent holiday season, many of you used the annual “holiday letter” to reflect on the unprecedented time that we are living through. I was especially struck by the words of my friend, musician and composer, Charlie Barnett, who shared the following memory of his mother’s wisdom:

Charlie Barnett's  Composer's Notebook January 2021 (an excerpt)

Dear Maestro: I think about my mother a lot these days. She was a farm girl from Maine with a very no-nonsense approach to life. Once, when I was just starting out in music, I complained to her that I didn't have enough work. She thought a bit and responded, “When we had downtime on the farm, we would go out to the shed and sharpen all the tools.” 

I know that for a lot of people, especially those with small children, there has been precious little downtime since the pandemic began. Others, though, have had the opposite challenge: not enough work to fill the days. For me, it helps to keep my mom's story in mind. When there's no work to do, I practice piano. I practice guitar. I write music that nobody asked for. It doesn't solve every problem, but it helps keep my creative tools sharp.

Hopefully sometime in 2021, after everyone has been vaccinated, we musicians can emerge, blinking, from our woodsheds and get back to the business of making music together. I wish you strength and health as you sharpen your tools until then.

Charlie is an accomplished musician and composer who I met over a decade ago. Though we do not see each other often, I am always touched by the magic of his music and the joy he spreads when making it. 

I have now been touched by the story he shared about his mother and her words of wisdom. 

The pandemic has forced us all to “sharpen the tools in our woodsheds”, whether they be concrete - practicing our craft; or more abstract - practicing our coping skills like patience and perseverance.

And while for many of us, time is the thing we do not have enough of, we persist in spite of precious little time, in trying over and over again to support our families during this unprecedented time.

I salute parents everywhere for their determination and steadfastness. As I am inspired by the words of Charlie Barnett, I am inspired by you!

Please continue to share your stories with us, we are nourished by your words and sentiments.

And don’t forget to check out Charlie Barnett’s fabulous group, Chaise Lounge.