Maybe It Wasn't Wrong

A few days ago, my didgeridoo teacher, Gauthier Aubé said something that quietly followed me around.

He explained that beginners often get stuck in a rhythm.

Not because it's the wrong rhythm.

Not because they can't hear another one.

But because they haven't yet learned how to shift.

He went on to explain that observation is essential. Intuition lets us discover. Reflection helps us understand what we've discovered. Without both, we eventually get stuck—not because there isn't another rhythm available, but because we keep returning to the one we already know.

A few days later, an email landed in my inbox with the subject:

"Stop Repeating Patterns..."

The solution, of course, was another set of patterns.

I laughed.

It also inspired what I believe is a completely reliable system for personal growth.

The Official Flexible Person Routine™

Step 1: Always remain open to change.

Step 2: Never deviate from the flexibility protocol.

Step 3: Follow this routine until it no longer fits the situation. Continue following it anyway.

I suspect many of us have been faithfully following some version of it for years.

The more I sat with it, the more something else began to emerge.

The old rhythm didn't feel right because it was the best rhythm.

It felt right because it was familiar.

The new rhythm didn't feel wrong because it was a bad rhythm.

It felt awkward because it was new.

For a while...

I mistook familiar for correct.

I'm beginning to wonder how often I've done that outside of music.

How many times have I looked back at an old way of thinking, working, or being and called it wrong...

...when perhaps it was simply the rhythm I kept returning to because it was the one I knew best.

Maybe it wasn't the wrong rhythm.

Maybe it was simply the one that fit...

...until I learned how to shift.