REHEARSING

      After Delycia and I returned this afternoon from attending an “open rehearsal” by the Eastern Connecticut Symphony (we’ll be going back to hear their performance tonight), I got to thinking about the importance of rehearsals in many aspects of my life. To rehearse is to practice a task in order to become competent in it, and there’s certainly many tasks in my life that need serious practice. Listening, for instance – just sitting still and honestly listening to someone – is a task I’ve been practicing – rehearsing – for years, and I’m still a sadly inferior listener. My thoughts often flow away in fifteen different dictions as someone is talking. My heart has the best intentions, but my mind frequently floats far off course from what’s being said. So, I need to practice – rehearse. Like a cellist or a horn player, I need to practice carefully and often, until listening closely to someone becomes unvarying and effortless for me. Tonight the orchestra members, after years of practice, will probably play with wonderful perfection, and someday – who knows – I may be a sincere and skillful listener.