Thursday, November 03, 2011

Te Iti Kahurangi

Our whakataukī reads:

Whāia e koe te iti kahurangi
Ki te tūohu koe, he maunga teitei
Seek the small jewels
Should you bow your head
Let it be to a lofty mountain

For me, the small jewels are those golden moments of creativity - small, fleeting, precious, fragile. They are the moments of wonder when energy flows... flows freely, unrestrained, free from doubt, free from question. For me they arrive in music - when I discover something in composition or a spontaneous moment arrives in performance and the music takes flight. They arrive too when I am writing and an idea of quality comes forth. Again the idea can be small but precious nonetheless. They arrive too in moments when I share my knowledge, the knowledge I hold. When I speak before an audience or when I teach.

I spend my days in constant search of these moments. Tirelessly I set the conditions for them to arrive and all too often they do not. Faith and discipline is the key. I must maintain discipline myself in my daily routine to privilege this at all times.

1 comment:

Ruahines said...

Kia ora,
Well stated. Those small jewels are far more worthy than the baubles we do not need. I find those jewels for me are best in the mountains where the clarity is best.
Rangimarie,
Robb