What Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow?

 

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.

-Martin Luther

Education if the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.

-Malcom X

So many students are unwilling to submit to the toil and drudgery which are as necessary as ever if really solid results are to be achieved. A fatal self-satisfaction seems to be one of the commonest failings of the average singer.

-Luisa Tetrazzini

There is a far too prevalent tendency to shirk the real hard (technical) work which must be accomplished before lasting success can be attained. No matter how naturally talented any individual vocalist may be, he or she cannot possibly produce the best results as a singer unless the particular organs have been subjected to a proper and sufficiently long course of training.

-Enrico Caruso

It is simplicity that emerges with all its charm, as the final seal upon art. Whoever hopes to attain this quickly will never achieve it; one cannot begin at the end. One must have studied much, even immensely, to reach this goal, and it is not easy.

-Frederic Chopin

 

As you consider all of the above quotes, in each case the author has achieved something of note, something for which his or her memory is with us even to this very day. And what do all of these luminaries have in common? What can we learn from all of them? What is it that distinguishes all of them, and that gives us guidance for the utilization of our lives today?

In a word, let us each engage fully this day to practice. My practice as a musician is not ever something that can wait until tomorrow. If I am to contribute to this world in a creative and valuable way, I must practice today.

Is your practice to write? Then write today. Is your practice to give? Then give today. Is your practice to listen? Then listen this very moment. Would you be a musician? Then practice being a musician today.

It is only in the activity itself that we can become rightful heirs to our profession. If I would be a musician, I must practice today. If I would be a learner, I must learn today. If you have something to give, give today!

What is the urgency? What is the importance of taking vocational action today? What is the need for me to act now, and not wait until tomorrow? Simply this: today is a gift, and tomorrow is never here. No book was ever written tomorrow, no song sung yesterday, no technique mastered two days from now. We can only ever make progress today. We can only ever learn, grow, teach, listen, and love. . .today!

Would you be a contribution to yourself, to the history of your chosen discipline, and to all of mankind? We await your contribution. History is always smiling in anticipation of those who will give everything that they have to give, and who then discover what more they have been given to offer yet again. So today, only today, practice.