Saturday, January 31, 2026
When I first start teaching a student to play the pipe organ, lots of clunky thought goes into it; but after a while, the student refines their skill. They stop thinking so much and allow the body to play without the intervention of clunky thought or effort.
In upper levels of highly refined skill, a person realizes keen ability has arisen in such a way that effort stands still. When I play sophisticated music like Bach, it’s relaxed, and so little effort goes into it. Even in practicing a new piece, the early stages are relaxed. Building in the speed and fluidity is also without effort. It’s enjoyable. Not much goes on. The so-called performer has merged with the process, and it’s all emotive response, and sensory and auditory openness, electricity moving through fingers and toes. It’s a wonderment of unity unlike anything you can imagine. One, at this level, becomes “a natural.”
Once you get a feel for something, and you have refined it, you realize the secret is that the doer is no longer interfering in the doing. And the performer is not performing. There is no performer. At the highest level, performing isn’t automatic, but completely free from trying, effort, or the identification of any force. It’s setting the sail just right, taught enough, as to catch and maximize the wind’s speed direction and flow. You’re sailing.
I love that feeling. I want to live effortlessly. I don’t even “have to” think about it. Conventional wisdom would tell you that you “have to think.” But I know I can trust my body. I can trust everything and sail. I just need to adjust, get a feel for it, and ride the wave.
Life is sweet when you get a knack for it. Become a natural, and you’ll realize you never had to think or try. Just sail.