Cort McMurray: Bake that bread. Write that novel. Self-improvement is hard, but its liberating. – Houston Chronicle
Posted: September 30, 2020 at 1:50 am
In the early days of the current ordeal, before our patience and our hope was ground to a dull nub, everyone had a plan for self-improvement during the pandemic. We downloaded language training apps, determined to master conversational Russian (you know, just in case). Bread flour and bakers yeast flew off the grocery shelves as folks who didnt know a boule from a boulder decided to reinvent themselves as artisanal bakers. We dusted off exercise equipment and long forgotten guitars and those notebooks from college, vowing to write the Great American Novel or become the next Bob Dylan or develop abs that make Chris Hemsworth say, Crikey!
Weeks turn into years, how quick they pass. The weeks have actually turned into months, but you dont mess with a Hal David lyric, and honestly, this summer has felt like a decade. The weather got warmer and COVID-19 didnt disappear, like a miracle, and most of our self-improvement efforts dissolved into endless hours of Netflix and a diet centered on Cheez Whiz and Oreos, all the noble reinventions withering like neglected houseplants.
Self-improvement is hard. Those Great British Baking Show types make artisanal bread look easy as, well, pie. You watch slack-jawed as some wispy little British dandy produces a loaf of pumpernickel in the shape of a meticulously detailed scale model replica of St. Pauls Cathedral and sniffs, Sir Christopher Wren has always been a personal hero, and you think, Oi! I can do that! except your bake ends up denser than tungsten, horribly misshapen and so inedible that even the dog wont touch it.
Everyone thinks Russian is impossible because of the unfamiliar Cyrillic alphabet. It takes about a half-hour to learn the Cyrillic alphabet. Its the rest the labyrinthine grammar, the endless homonyms, the maddening battle to differentiate between hard and soft sounds that leaves you shrieking like the subject of an Edvard Munch painting and frantically ordering your computer phone to delete Duolingo. And rock-hard abs? Please. Were a nation of La-Z-Boy recliners and oozing orders of animal-style fries. There arent enough sit-ups in the universe to make a six pack out of us.
Its disheartening.
In our house, self-improvement took the form of the humble ukulele. Invented by the Portuguese and perfected by the Hawaiians, the uke has become my nemesis, my obsession, my tiny four-stringed white whale.
This was not my choice. I live in a musical household. My wife and daughter are both elementary school music teachers, and our eldest son is a former all-state tenor. They are the masterminds behind Team Ukulele.
My own musical experience is limited and fraught with failure. I played the cello in elementary school, an instrument chosen by my mother with my enthusiastic approval, because I thought she said oboe, and Sara Larsen played oboe, which meant I finally had something in common with Sara Larsen. Instead of sharing lingering cafeteria school luncheons of hot dogs and tater tots as Sara and I discussed the merits of soft versus medium soft reeds, I spent two years hauling around a hunk of maple roughly the size of New Hampshire and suffering the indignity of being the first and worst left-handed cellist in Meadow Drive Elementary School history. I hated that cello, and it hated me, and Im pretty sure Mr. Grande, our long-suffering music teacher, hated both of us.
Tuesday was cello private lesson day. I was the schools only cellist, so it was just Mr. Grande and me in the music room, my corduroyed knees gripping that awful hunk of maple, Mr. Grande pulling an ashtray and a pack of Winstons from a desk drawer, lighting up and exhaling after a deep drag, sighing, What do you have for me this week, Mr. McMurray? Id screech through Exercise in A or Le Petit Lievre while Mr. Grande stared into space and pondered his life choices. When I finally quit cello after 18 miserable months, I had not progressed past book one.
Ukulele will be different, my wife promised. Anybody can learn to play the ukulele. Even you.
We started with Christmas music. The plan is to establish a small but crowd-pleasing repertoire and wow our friends and loved ones by performing this December as a socially distanced ukulele caroling squad.
Sunday afternoons are practice time. Those first few practices were as tense as Jay-Z sharing an elevator with Solange. There was lots of anger. There was lots of yelling. All of it came from me.
While the rest of the family plinked merrily along, my stubby peasant fingers rebelled. I was Marty McFly at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance, dizzy and sweating, my rebellious right hand playing havoc on the fingerboard, my family slowly disappearing before my eyes.
Marty got better. I didnt.
After weeks of effort, those stubby peasant digits finally began to obey. Callouses formed on my fingertips. I slid from C to F to G with the fluidity and grace of the marginally competent.
Thats when I learned about strumming.
There are a variety of ukulele strum patterns, the most common being the down, down up, up down up Island Strum. Rhythm and tempo are key to successful playing. Too fast or too slow, and it doesnt matter whether your fingers are creating the right chords the song will be unintelligible. Chords are the Cyrillic alphabet, rhythm and tempo the labyrinthine grammar. Expecting this cello class dropout to master rhythm and tempo is like hiring a rhesus macaque to pilot a Boeing 737. Things will happen. None of them will be good.
I wanted to quit. Youre getting better. Keep it up! my family encouraged. I kept playing. Forty-eight years ago, a stringed hunk of maple defeated me. I would not lose again. In the middle of a really bad day at work, I impulsively bought a nice wooden uke to replace the cheap plastic job Id been using. It features a stars and stripes motif. I feel like a Hawaiian Buck Owens.
Five months in, and the only song I can play with even a small degree of proficiency is Jos Felicianos Feliz Navidad. Its a good feeling, strumming away, wanting to wish you a merry Christmas, from the bottom of my heart. Ive tried adding other tunes, everything from The Cures Friday Im In Love to the Grateful Deads Ripple. I Am A Child Of God, a beloved church song, is also on my practice list.
They all sound like Feliz Navidad.
The 19th-century author Elizabeth Charles writes, The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there but those that sing best. I like being one of the birds who dont sing so well. Its liberating. And who doesnt need a little liberation these days?
Bake your terrible bread. Write your awful novel. Sing your wretched song. Do your crunches, even if youve got a plate of Double Stuf Oreos balanced on your chest the entire time. If the closest you come to conversational Russian is waving your arms and yelling, Moose and Squirrel! Moose and Squirrel! and expressing your affection for Fearless Leader, youre probably ready to be an undersecretary of state.
There are mediocre paintings to be painted, and recipes to be botched, and all sorts of instruments to be misplayed. Put down the remote, seal up the chip bag and get going.
Lets fill the woods with our songs. Even if they all sound like Feliz Navidad.
McMurray is a Houston businessman and a frequent contributor to Gray Matters.
Original post:
Cort McMurray: Bake that bread. Write that novel. Self-improvement is hard, but its liberating. - Houston Chronicle
- Master Keys to Success Video [Last Updated On: June 20th, 2011] [Originally Added On: June 20th, 2011]
- Barbara Marx Hubbard, Conscious Evolution [Last Updated On: August 10th, 2011] [Originally Added On: August 10th, 2011]
- Self-Compassion: Why it's Important and How you Can Practice It [Last Updated On: November 5th, 2014] [Originally Added On: October 16th, 2014]
- Self Improvement Quotes and Sayings [Last Updated On: September 14th, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 14th, 2015]
- Self Development Courses, Personal Development Programs [Last Updated On: September 14th, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 14th, 2015]
- Self Improvement: How To Self Help And Achieve The Future ... [Last Updated On: September 14th, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 14th, 2015]
- Self Help Books & Self Improvement eBooks for Personal ... [Last Updated On: September 14th, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 14th, 2015]
- Self-help - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: September 14th, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 14th, 2015]
- Self Improvement - Pick the Brain | Motivation and Self ... [Last Updated On: September 15th, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 15th, 2015]
- 42 Practical Ways To Improve Yourself - Lifehack [Last Updated On: September 15th, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 15th, 2015]
- Useful Self Improvement Tips, Advice, Personal Development ... [Last Updated On: September 22nd, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 22nd, 2015]
- Self-Improvement .com - your online life coach [Last Updated On: September 23rd, 2015] [Originally Added On: September 23rd, 2015]
- Brian Kim.net - Invest in Yourself and Make It Happen ... [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2015] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2015]
- Free Self Improvement Advice, Ideas and Tips [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2015] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2015]
- Diet Mind Spirit - Body Mind, Spirit, Personal development ... [Last Updated On: January 22nd, 2016] [Originally Added On: January 22nd, 2016]
- Benjamin Franklin . Wit and Wisdom . Self Improvement | PBS [Last Updated On: February 2nd, 2016] [Originally Added On: February 2nd, 2016]
- 101 Online Self Improvement Resources | PickTheBrain ... [Last Updated On: February 2nd, 2016] [Originally Added On: February 2nd, 2016]
- Dallas Orthodontics & Braces, FREE Exam | Apple Orthodontix [Last Updated On: February 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: February 19th, 2016]
- Ways to Improve [Last Updated On: February 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: February 27th, 2016]
- Personal Development Club - The Self Improvement Coach [Last Updated On: March 4th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 4th, 2016]
- MenProvement | Self Improvement For Men [Last Updated On: April 29th, 2016] [Originally Added On: April 29th, 2016]
- Mind Power and Self Improvement Tips: Mind Cafe [Last Updated On: April 30th, 2016] [Originally Added On: April 30th, 2016]
- John Kreiter | Self-Improvement and Interesting Knowledge [Last Updated On: July 18th, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 18th, 2016]
- HostBlast.Net - Low cost web hosting starting at $0.50 [Last Updated On: July 30th, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 30th, 2016]
- Letter of Recommendation: Duolingo - New York Times [Last Updated On: July 30th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 30th, 2017]
- GET A LIFE: Quest for self-improvement shouldn't be stressful - Wicked Local Mattapoisett [Last Updated On: July 30th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 30th, 2017]
- Kieran McGeeney and the triumph of self-improvement - Irish Times [Last Updated On: July 30th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 30th, 2017]
- Bold Self Improvement [Last Updated On: July 30th, 2017] [Originally Added On: July 30th, 2017]
- How to Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking: 12 Steps [Last Updated On: August 8th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 8th, 2017]
- When self-improvement is self-destruction: The 4 warning signs - Gears Of Biz [Last Updated On: August 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 13th, 2017]
- Self-improvement just a click away - The Star Online [Last Updated On: August 16th, 2017] [Originally Added On: August 16th, 2017]
- Finding your tribe - Claremore Daily Progress [Last Updated On: September 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: September 1st, 2017]
- Continuously Improve Yourself! r/selfimprovement - reddit [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2017]
- Simple Technique for Self Improvement and Self Growth [Last Updated On: December 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: December 1st, 2017]
- Self-Improvement Tips for a Happy, Prosperous and ... [Last Updated On: December 1st, 2017] [Originally Added On: December 1st, 2017]
- Tony Robbins London 2018 UPW Tickets on Sale! [Last Updated On: December 2nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: December 2nd, 2017]
- How to Be Okay with Being You: 15 Steps (with Pictures ... [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2017]
- Nook Self Improvement Blog [Last Updated On: December 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: December 14th, 2017]
- Self-Improvement Is Not Just For Young Guys Return Of Kings [Last Updated On: January 19th, 2018] [Originally Added On: January 19th, 2018]
- Self-Improvement - Free Books at EBD - E-Books Directory [Last Updated On: March 1st, 2018] [Originally Added On: March 1st, 2018]
- Self improvement versus God improvement | Christianity and ... [Last Updated On: March 7th, 2018] [Originally Added On: March 7th, 2018]
- What is Self Improvement? [Last Updated On: March 11th, 2018] [Originally Added On: March 11th, 2018]
- 11 Easy Ways to Finally Overcome Your Fear of Public ... [Last Updated On: March 15th, 2018] [Originally Added On: March 15th, 2018]
- 5 Outstanding Self Improvement Skills You Should Start ... [Last Updated On: March 18th, 2018] [Originally Added On: March 18th, 2018]
- Desperately Seeking Self-Improvement: A Year Inside the ... [Last Updated On: May 6th, 2018] [Originally Added On: May 6th, 2018]
- What is Self-Improvement? - International Life Coaching ... [Last Updated On: May 15th, 2018] [Originally Added On: May 15th, 2018]
- Desperately Seeking Self-Improvement, by Carl Cederstrm ... [Last Updated On: May 23rd, 2018] [Originally Added On: May 23rd, 2018]
- Should Your Self-Improvement Start With You? | Wealthy Gorilla [Last Updated On: June 12th, 2018] [Originally Added On: June 12th, 2018]
- Be Your Own Life Coach: 10 Ideas for Self-Improvement ... [Last Updated On: July 1st, 2018] [Originally Added On: July 1st, 2018]
- 20 Self Improvement Tips That Will Change Your Life ... [Last Updated On: July 29th, 2018] [Originally Added On: July 29th, 2018]
- Self-improvement | Define Self-improvement at Dictionary.com [Last Updated On: October 14th, 2018] [Originally Added On: October 14th, 2018]
- Employee Rewards Programs, Loyalty Reward Program [Last Updated On: January 26th, 2019] [Originally Added On: January 26th, 2019]
- Most of us are too busy to be better: the lazy person's ... [Last Updated On: March 5th, 2019] [Originally Added On: March 5th, 2019]
- Best Articles: 20 Articles That Can Change Your Life ... [Last Updated On: May 12th, 2019] [Originally Added On: May 12th, 2019]
- 8 Best Industries for Starting a Business Right Now | Inc.com [Last Updated On: May 12th, 2019] [Originally Added On: May 12th, 2019]
- Learn Self Improvement | Free Online Courses | Class Central [Last Updated On: July 12th, 2019] [Originally Added On: July 12th, 2019]
- Letter: From a fifth year to all first years be brave - Ubyssey Online [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- REVIEW: Sardonic Humor in Glass Menagerie (Guthrie Theater) - Twin Cities Arts Reader [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- Employers Want To Retrain Workers, But Heres What Theyre Missing - Forbes [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- Leaving Fear Behind and Learning to Trust - Multiple Sclerosis News Today [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- Taylor-Made Takes: 'Whatever We Have To Do To Get a First Down and Score Points' - Bengals.com [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- Shashi Tharoors word of the week: Satyagraha - Hindustan Times [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- Korey Wise shares his story of life after exoneration, continued frustrations with the justice system during WMU visit - Western Herald [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- Universal ethical truths are at the core of Jewish High Holy Days - Daytona Beach News-Journal [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- Staying on Top of Things - Thrive Global [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- Teddy Roosevelt, the athlete, was more about grit than might - The Keene Sentinel [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- 0929 Horo | | albanyherald.com - The Albany Herald [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- Lampard urges Hudson-Odoi to learn from Sterling and queries Leeds award - The Guardian [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- What to do when your work and play are out of whack - Bangor Daily News [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- You Say Your Business Has Purpose? What Does That Mean? - Forbes [Last Updated On: September 28th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 28th, 2019]
- How Have Health Workers Won Improvements to Patient Care? Strikes. - In These Times [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2019]
- Prisoners 'buried alive' living in 24/7 silence and darkness in solitary confinement - Mirror Online [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2019]
- How Cargill is improving digital commerce - DigitalCommerce360 [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2019]
- HOROSCOPES: How Sundays new moon will affect your week, according to your star sign. - Mamamia [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2019]
- Philadelphia Eagles: 3 Areas that must improve immediately - Inside the Iggles [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2019]
- North Korea's UN ambassador bemoans lack of progress with the US, South Korea - NK News [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2019]
- Sunday Commentary: Parole Opposition Shows Once Again Reisig Just Not a Reformer - The Peoples Vanguard of Davis [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2019]
- Americans' Diet Is Improving, But They're Still Overdoing It on Unhealthy Carbs and Fat - Everyday Health [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2019]
- Recently Published Study: The Differences Between Chinese And Other Luxury Travellers - Hospitality Net [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2019]
- Literature, science or art there's a lecture coming to Fairfield County - The Ridgefield Press [Last Updated On: September 30th, 2019] [Originally Added On: September 30th, 2019]