The best inspiration for an afternoon and evening of teaching piano lessons is an hour spent  playing the piano – relishing the sounds and marveling at the creativity and imagination of the great composers. Sometimes that hour can be a bit difficult to find with the rest of life that has to be fit into those 24 hours every day, although if I’m honest, it usually can be found.

This morning’s post on Lead.Learn.Live. was my source of motivation to find that hour today. David Kanigan posted some excerpts from a biography of Bruce Lee, the martial arts icon. Lee’s philosophy was that man must always exceed his level, always strive for more, not shutting his mind or letting his muscles atrophy. He became great by always seeking improvement. It’s worth reading the post.

There is quite literally no end to what we can learn about music and teaching. It just takes that first step some days to get myself to the piano. When it’s time to do something else (make dinner, teach, errands, welcome family home…) I’m always sorry that my time at the piano is over.

This is the inside cover of my Chopin Nocturnes that my teacher gave me – obviously for a birthday present (which is not today) when I was probably 16 or 17.  These have indeed given me many hours of pleasure.