So... If you're going to improvise in life, by what principle will you determine your direction - your improvisation? When I improvise musically, I usually pick a key and start from there. I know I'll come back around and explore relative and non-relative keys in a search for sounds that please me. When I improvise in life, the principle I try to choose is "love". If I can practice the various steps of "love" in whatever situation I find myself, I'll probably end up with something that's pleasing to me and potentially pleasing to others. Do I have a goal of pleasing others? Not necessarily. To do what is loving doesn't always mean that people will be pleased by my actions. Is that an excuse not to do what is loving? Sometimes it has been - often to my detriment and the detriment of those around me. When I seek to please others rather than loving them, I'm not likely to be improvising or serving them in a manner that will outlive the short-sighted actions of the day. I'd love to please people more often than I do. Still, by improvising my actions toward the goal of offering love, I've found that I usually end up with something that will be lasting rather than merely temporary. It's not easy. But, in my experience, love rarely is easy. Some people prefer hard and fast rules about how loving should be done. That approach is not for me. Improvising seems to me a better way to travel on the path of life than perpetrating mere rules. In my experience, trying to "love" by the rules usually has the result of creating something that is a dry husk - or an impersonation of love. To "love" and to improvise my actions toward making sure the love offered is what is truly needed by those I'm trying to love... That's when improvisational love actually builds upon a foundation that was started eons ago. My goal in life is love. My means of getting there is improvisational loving so I might better meet the true needs of those around me. Am I trying to be like God? I certainly hope so...
Randy
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