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Teyani Whitman's avatar

A struggle that so many are taught in or culture : perfectionism.

You’ve probably read it, yet it bears mention: The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, explains beautifully how we are taught to create an external reward system, units of measure that we weigh ourselves against. And it’s a shame really. Those yardsticks (how we measure ourselves) can always be yanked out of whack by a whim. Better to bring the yardstick within ourselves, eh?

I enjoy the word harmony, as I love singing in harmony, yet mostly I lean towards the word “ “congruent”. I attempt to be congruent on the inside and the outside, and not wear a false self to gain anyone’s approval except my own.

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David Marlow's avatar

There is a strong connection between harmony and congruent. The root origin of congruent is 'suitable, proper, harmoniously joined or related.'

My life has been much more harmonious since dropping those external measures yu mention. Lots to learn from the Four agreements. Thanks as always for adding richness to the conversation Teyani. 🙏🏻

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David Regehr 🇨🇦's avatar

David, thank you for that insight. It brings forward the importance of mindfulness in our daily lives, of not allowing the busyness to blind us to our true selves. Yours in Ikigai.

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David Marlow's avatar

That inharmonious busyness robs so many of us. Yours in Ikigai...I like that, David. 🙏🏻

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Arnaly Arriaga Blanco's avatar

You know, harmony is my favourite part of the music. More than a singer or a piano player, I'm an arranger. That's the side of music where I shine, and there's nothing more sublime (yes, sublime is the only word I can use to describe this feeling) than to take a simple harmony of a song and reharmonize it, adding dissonance and chord substitutions. And yes, musicians add dissonances to enrich music by adding tension and releasing it at the right time. I think there are a lot of dissonances in life; we just need to know the right notes to make those dissonances sound right. Thanks always for the opportunity for reflection.

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David Marlow's avatar

You are most welcome my friend.

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