Credit: Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times article about Nobel Prize Winner John Goodenough
“Some of his colleagues were dubious that he could pull it off. But Dr. Goodenough was not dissuaded. ‘I’m old enough to know you can’t close your mind to new ideas. You have to test out every possibility if you want something new.’
My brother and I have a quote that we often write down or talk about: “que voulez vous”, meaning “what do you want?”
It’s a question that requires courage to ask, because the answer usually provokes action, and sometimes moving on.
I realised last week that all my repeat listen songs were about moving on (and getting over…thanks John Mayer).
My favourite French jazz singer Cyrille Aimée released an entire album called “Move On” and I didn’t even realise the titles were all the same until I put all the tracks in one playlist and saw the words staring back at me.
In her bio, she wrote:
“She’s also taken to telling her own story to audiences and students alike, hoping to pass along the same fervor for living an improvisatory life that the gypsies awoke in her…She also teaches master classes for aspiring musicians, emphasizing an aware and spontaneous life – including a call to look up from smartphones and other addicting devices of modern existence – over technique and rote repetition.”
Move on, get out of the rut, experiment, try something new, test every possibility…I think there’s a common theme screaming out at me!
