Seth Godin wrote about consequences the other day. He cites the “Seven Social Sins” popularized by Gandhi. I pasted them below. I am not going to comment on our culture. Instead, I am going to ask how you interpret these “social sins” relative to your values? Tolstoy suggested that culture and society are improved from the inside the out. If that’s remotely true, then what might matter is not how we see others show up in society, but how we choose to show up for each other. Wealth without work.Pleasure without conscience.Knowledge without character.Commerce without morality.Science without humanity.Religion without sacrifice.Politics without principle.

I just finished Leo Tolstoy’s “A Calendar of Wisdom.” The book is Tolstoy’s curated collection of insights and ideas from great thinkers and great books. The entry for December 31st got me thinking:“The past does not exist. The future has not begun. The present is an infinitely small point in time in which the already nonexistent past meets the imminent future. At this point, which is timeless, a person’s real life exists. Time does not exist. There is only a small and infinite present, and it is only in this present that our life occurs. Therefore, a person should concentrate all his spiritual force only on this present.” A powerful meditation to start off the new year. Consider picking up this book - even from the library.

Good leaders know how to expand the world of those in their charge.

Apparently, the likelihood that your judgments are accurate — noise and bias free — may rise or fall with your mood. If that’s true, take an inventory of your mood and emotions before making big decisions.

Do I understand you?I imagine your life is a mix of ups and downs. You wake up dreading what’s to come. You ask, “why am I doing this? What have I gotten myself into?”I imagine you wish someone would help you. You tell people in your life what’s happening in your life, but it seems like nobody listens. Don’t they see you struggle.I imagine you find life overwhelming. Every day one new thing to track. One new bill to pay. One new fire to put. And, maybe for you, one new rabbit hole to go down. You can’t keep doing this, you just need a break. Why can’t others see you need a break?I can imagine these things because I’ve listened to many people over many years talk about their lives. But to imagine is not the same as understand. I don’t want to understand you.What you think you seek is “understanding” but what you actually seek is “being acknowledged.”Acknowledgment, in the way I am using the word, means to be “seen” or “perceived.” To have your humanity “recognized.” To say I “understand” your humanity is to rob you of your experience. You don’t want your experience stolen from you, I think you want it “recognized.”Why is it so hard to see people recognizing us?Perhaps because we want people not only to recognize us but do something for us. We want the recognition of our situation to compel action — some argue that’s called “sympathy.” A person can be skilled at “recognizing” but not sympathetic; and someone can be sympathetic but not skilled at recognizing. What’s my preference?My preference is to be skilled at recognizing someone’s humanity. I prefer people recognize me for my humanity too. I don’t need/want sympathy; what I need is another pair of eyes looking back at me and saying, “I see you.”

Brian, a friend of the blog, shared this quote with me.“We usually compare our rough drafts to others’ final drafts.” I almost believe this blog is several rough drafts away from a final draft. I think of my life the same way — every day that came before is a rough draft. What else?

Beyonce had Sasha Fierce. Who do you have?When I show up to play a show, I become a character. I feel like some musical special operator brought in to surgical strike at the heart of the show. I’m called when you need someone that reads any style, plays a ton of styles, and is fun to be around. I’m a professional. I show up early. I prepare. That version of me is a version of me that only exists on the inside. You see me as David Brady who loves to play piano and have fun. If you want to improve your execution, consider becoming a character. Easier said than done; but give it a try.

It’s a cliche phrase for a reason.I wish the phrase was more real though. Here’s my suggested addendum:…because eventually you’ll do the hard thing, and it will usually be at the end of the day when you’re tired, wanna go home, and this is the very last thing you want to do.

Mark is a man I met the other day. He fishes at a park near Sheboygan, Wisconsin. After Mark finished sharing his life story with me he asked, “what kind of music do you play?”I responded: “I’m a musical servant.”I love the concept, I’m learning to like the execution, and I’ll probably do it again if another total stranger asks me.

There are only 365 keys on the piano. I’m reasonably certain that any chord (two or more keys pressed together at the same time) that could be created, have been created. That means, the aspiring pianist is not going to break new ground inventing new chords. Change in art and culture is done on the margin. The aspiring pianist just needs to go out to the margin of what’s been done before and then try to do things a little differently. That’s how change happens. The same idea works outside of music.Note: this isn’t a blog about current affairs. Musicians riffing off each other is a thing that’s been done since humans banged things together to make sound.