DON'T DISCOUNT THE LITTLE THINGS

[schlomo]

Don’t Discount the Little Things

When I was growing up under the tutelage of my father, a classical music aficionado, we bought dozens of opera recordings that exclusively included the most melodic excerpts from Baroque to post-Romanticism. I had no interest in the translations or the plot. All that appealed to me were the soaring cadences of the lusciously soul-stirring arias that enveloped me.

Not until I subscribed to the Met on Demand did I take a more balanced approach. At first, listening to the “filler” between the featured highlights was irritating. I wanted to get to the prime operatic portions, not the gristle in between. But after a while, I began to enjoy following the story lines, whether they were silly or cerebral. By doing so, I embraced a good deal of background and foreshadowing that wasn’t as tuneful as I would have previously preferred. And whenever I come across an operatic gem, it is more dramatic and meaningful because of the plot development conveyed by low-key, at times painstakingly sung conversation.

And so it goes with life itself. We should cherish the unspectacular daily events in our lives instead of biding our time until we experience some spectacular revelation, either unexpectedly or through our own efforts. As so many meditation practitioners advise, appreciate the present and de-emphasize the future. That’s how to obtain serenity. Or as the renowned moral philosopher Martin Buber opined on how to obtain redemption: it is “the hallowing of all [everyday] actions without distinction.”

There will be plenty of arias in our lives, but we need to pay attention to the recitatives as well.