A Moment For a Little Reflection on Meaning

"The purpose of life is not to win. The purpose of life is to grow and to share. When you come to look back on all that you have done in life, you will get more satisfaction from the pleasure you have brought to other people's lives than you will from the times that you outdid and defeated them." --Rabbi Harold Kushner

For me it is meaningful that I know I have done the very best that I can do each and every day. I do not hold myself up to be competitive with others. Too often, I see people losing sight of themselves in all the so-called "back-stabbing" competition to get ahead ... to grab that so-called prize that they think the other person has. In the arena of competition for a spot on some sort of leaderboard, people can and do become unfriendly, unkind and sometimes back-stabbing. What for I ask? Do you think that being on the top of that list is going to make you HAPPIER? Or, do you think it is going to make you rich?

Who was it that said, "For someone to win; someone has to lose." ???

What is it that you are really seeking? Are you seeking some type of meaning or recognition? It may sound trite and cliche to say this, but we need to look inside ourselves for meaning. Take a moment to reflect ... heck, it is the new year and a time for reflection after all.

Speaking from experience, I can say that I might have hit the upper ranks of some leaderboards in the past, but what has it accomplished? Trust me, there has been plenty of heartbreak with those leaderboards ... losing friends [who probably weren't friends to begin with], being misquoted, having words put in my mouth, having words taken out of context, having people copy ideas to set forth as their own, and so on. It is no picnic! I personally come down on the side to get rid of those leaderboards! Spotlight multiple people so as not to single out someone who can in a high school mentality [or even junior high sometimes] become a target for negativity!

So, why not take a moment from all that hubbub that you've put yourself into and take time for a little reflection on meaning. Hey, let's add some meaning to our lives before it is too late. Oh, and I've found a couple of books that I might recommend to you. Peace!

Bravo David Taylor - Chicago Symphony Orchestra

The other day I shared a story of how people driving in Ohio weather handle a rough slippery road. It was a pretty funny story, especially if you are from Ohio and like our family and friends -- you would get it. It was because of that very story, when I shared with my cousin Cindy Taylor that I had blogged about her, one thing led to another ... and to this blog post today!

Thinking back to family reunions, Holidays with Grandma, it usually meant seeing all our cousins! We had the cousins Nagy and the brilliant, musically-not-challenged cousins Taylor! Wow, that Taylor family. No sibling rivalry there, but just a huge case of AH and AWESOME. You've kind of already heard of one of the cousins, Cindy. Oh, she was quite remarkable on that piano -- I'll have to ask her if she is still performing as I don't know this bit of information and it is a shame. It is a shame that you can move to another part of the country and lose valuable contact with your cousins.

So, here I am today telling you about a Bravo moment with my cousin David Taylor! Oh, how I so remember the holidays when we would all get together. We liked going to visit the Taylors because David would play his violin for us. Wow! I am smiling now with the moment of nostalgia. Fast forward to yesterday. I opted to do a SquidWho lens on Who is David Taylor! Yeah. I don't think as of this writing that he or Cindy have reviewed it, but I am hoping to spice and spruce the lens up with some valuable insight and cool content as only Cindy and David can share after all those years of playing that violin -- probably a Stradivarius or two too!

This is my moment of pause and consternation for David! You must, simply must, visit Who is David Taylor and check out the YouTube video of him in performance as the violin soloist with Ho Chung Yeh, Conductor of the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra at the International String Music Festival. The performance is of the Beethoven Violin Concerto.

Please set aside not quite ten minutes to enjoy David's performance. And, please pay close attention to ALL the action in the first three minutes and twenty seconds. This is my question! Have you seen similar performances of the Beethoven Violin Concerto with a violin solo? Is this NORMAL? That the violin soloist would -- have to do what David does? Stand in front of that orchestra awaiting his moment? Why is there not a chair in which he can sit comfortably until it is his time to play? I don't know, it didn't quite seem right to me. Please tell me what YOU think! And, thank you for dropping in to check out David Taylor -- he is brilliant and I do hope if you are in the Chicago, Illinois area that you do get a chance to see him perform.

David Taylor not only plays the violin quite brilliantly, but he is also the Assistant Concertmaster of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.