Productive pain vs. empty suffering

A homeless string program
Recently, I have found myself in a difficult teaching situation. I won’t name the school or the program but it is a place where I have taught many students for many years. The issue is that for the foreseeable future, I will not have a dedicated room in which to teach three days a week. Needless to say, I am experiencing anxiety about lessons starting up and what this school year will hold for me.

Don’t try to fix it
My knee-jerk reaction when I was told about this situation was to immediately try to “fix it,” to find a way to teach my program and maintain its high level. However, after taking a breath and calmly thinking things through, I decided to let the chips fall as they may. I had finally learned that it wasn’t my job to fix a problem that I had not created. Among other reasons, fixing it would involve greatly compromising my physical well-being.

Don’t rescue
I know that not rescuing the authority figures involved, has upset the apple cart to some extent. I am also still feeling really concerned about how this year is going to play out. Will students quit because the program seems like a joke? Will there be days when the areas my program has been relegated to, suddenly are not available, leaving me with the four walls to stare at in the closet we are calling my office? Over the past twenty years these things have happened to me.

The Inspiration for Violinists card deck
This trio of cards is part of a 50 card deck. Every card has a unique image and text inspiring musicianship, mindfulness and spirituality.

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