Weekly Voice Insights #99 — Where Is My Effort Directed?
"If your efforts are uncertain, the results will be too." — Epictetus, Discourses
Greek Glossary
- πνεῦμα (pneuma): breath, spirit
- προαίρεσις (prohairesis): deliberate choice, moral purpose
- βέβαιος (bebaios): steady, reliable, dependable
- ἡγεμονικόν (hēgemonikon): the governing faculty, the directing mind
- ἀσθενής (asthenēs): weak, lacking strength
A Steady Breath
"Take slow, deliberate breaths."
Many of us have heard that suggestion before. I use it before a difficult conversation, while preparing each phrase when I sing, or whenever I notice that I am becoming anxious.
Breathing never asks to be remembered. Even while we sleep, it continues faithfully. It is one of the most dependable processes in our lives.
The breath is already present. The question becomes whether I am working with it or working against it.
Years of practice teach us to strengthen the breath, organize our thoughts, and communicate more clearly. Practice develops the skills we depend upon. There also comes a point when our effort shifts from building those skills to directing them wisely. During performance, conversation, or any important moment, continuing to search for one more technique is often less helpful than trusting the preparation that has already been done.
Directing Our Effort
During the first Foster 200 recital, I found myself replaying the single line I had momentarily forgotten. An afternoon filled with music, audience participation, and meaningful conversations gradually gave way to one brief mistake that continued asking for my attention long after the recital had ended.
aphiēmi means "to release, to let go."
The forgotten line could no longer be changed.
If my efforts are uncertain, perhaps the first thing to examine is not their intensity but their direction.
Choosing What Deserves Attention
When teaching, I sometimes notice students trying to hold on to a breath because they have been told they should not breathe in the middle of a sentence or musical phrase. We certainly practice strengthening the breath and using it efficiently, just as swimmers gradually increase their capacity. At the same time, holding on to a breath that has already served its purpose rarely improves communication. Breath is there when the next thought or phrase calls for it.
The governing faculty, hēgemonikon, determines what we do next. Our thoughts, judgments, and choices determine where our effort is directed. A calm breath supports those choices, but it does not make them for us.
Dependable Habits
While visiting New Orleans, I spent time looking through an extraordinary collection of photographs, books, and memorabilia assembled over many years.
The people who influence us remain with us. Their lessons continue to appear in ways we may not recognize until much later.
Those influences are much like disciplined practice. They become part of us gradually, often without our noticing. When the opportunity comes to use them, the question is no longer whether we prepared enough, but whether we are willing to rely on what steady preparation has already given us.
I noticed the same pattern in a much smaller way when I caught myself saving a favorite food because I did not want to use it up. Eventually I had waited so long that I almost lost the opportunity to enjoy it. The effort was genuine, but it was directed toward preserving something instead of using it for the purpose it was meant to serve.
Each breath serves its purpose, is released, and another follows. We experience the breath we have rather than trying to preserve it for later. The breath quietly demonstrates the same principle. Steady preparation allows us to direct our effort toward the present moment instead of continuing to invest it in what has already passed.
Check-In
- Where is my effort directed today?
- Am I investing my attention in something that can still be shaped, or in something that has already passed?
- What dependable habits have I already developed that deserve my trust?
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