Betwixt Twain and Aristotle

Last week was a wash-out. A waste. A nearly complete miss, which the adverb does sadly little to mollify.

Yes, there are reasons (there nearly always are, after all), but they really don't matter. What does matter is re-starting today. Turn, and begin again. Re-dedication.

It helps that FB is loaded with motivational quotes this morning:

"A habit cannot be tossed out the window;
it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time."---Mark Twain

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."---Aristotle

And, not being willing to argue with the likes of Twain & Aristotle (it sounds like the name of a fine pub somewhere), I renew the plan: Exercise (why? it's healthy for mind (!) and body), piano (why? because I need it, like a painter needs to paint), Hebrew (really? Yes--this matters to me not because it's useful--it may never be useful--but because it's a challenge I want to meet, an enrichment I desire), and, next week, organ technique (because the pedal board is progressing, but I can do better).

Rebuilding requires recognition of the altered landscape--but the wise ones tell us of the importance of building excellence, coaxing ourselves (one step at a time) into being more than we were.

And that, ultimately, is the true goal.