This is a true story about something wonderful called jazz music, and what it can teach us about being together.
Once upon a time, there was a wise musician named Muhal. He played beautiful music with his friends, and he noticed something amazing. He said, "Why is it that none of us are alike? All the information was not put in one place."
Think about that for a moment. You have special gifts that nobody else has. Your friend has different gifts. Your teacher has different gifts. We're all like puzzle pieces that fit together to make something beautiful.
Muhal and his friends played a special kind of music called jazz. In jazz, musicians don't just follow written notes on a page. They listen very, very carefully to each other, and then they make up new melodies right there on the spot! This is called improvisation.
But here's the secret: to improvise well, you have to practice and practice. You have to know yourself really well. And then—and this is the most important part—you have to ask yourself a special question. Not "How can I be the loudest?" or "How can I be the boss?" Instead, you ask: "Who do I need to be so that my friends can be their very best?"
When jazz musicians play together, something magical happens. Each person plays their own special part, listening deeply to everyone else. No one tries to be more important than the others. Together, they create music more beautiful than any one person could make alone.
Just like a flower needs a bee, and a bee needs a flower, we all need each other. When we listen carefully and help each other shine, we make the world more beautiful—like one big, wonderful song.
And that's something worth dreaming about tonight.
Srinija Srinivasan previously served as board chair of SFJAZZ and was Yahoo!'s Editor in Chief over the company's first 15 years. She has since co-founded Loove, a developing music venture designed to demonstrate how commerce and technology can be guided by artistic values rather than letting our culture be led by market values. She is also a cofounder of Jubilee College, a two-year school where students will be equally rooted in physical work, rigorous liberal arts study, and contemplative practice. Srinija is a board member of the On Being Project and a former vice chair of Stanford University's Board of Trustees.
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This essay reminded me of many lessons learned through Service Space. Perhaps the most salient message relates to how we become able to improvise. The most impressive improvisation can only be achieved if performers have acquired a level of competence and understanding that frees them to choose combinations of notes and rhythms; often fantastic sequences that can be perceived as a spiritual experience...beyond the expected. Something that transcends the repetitive patterns that have brought the performers to this point. They don't have to think about what notes "work " logically. The magic comes from a deeper source, often performed in an interdependent struction that welcomes that magic. Once we get past the notes and more rigid requirements, improvisation emerges. Looks, sounds and feels like love to me.