This reflection began at the piano one morning when I didn’t know what to play. It became a meditation on timing, steadiness, and how we move when certainty isn’t available.
When Things Feel Unsteady
It’s hard not to feel the larger atmosphere these days here in late February, 2026.
There’s a lot happening.
A lot being said.
A lot that feels uncertain.
I’ve noticed in myself the subtle pull to either brace or look for someone else to steady things.
But more and more, it feels like each of us is part of how this moment unfolds.
Not dramatically.
Just in how we show up.
At the Piano
I felt this at the piano the other morning. I sat down and didn’t know what to play. My first instinct was to force something confident.
Instead, I waited.
Underneath the noise, there was a pulse.
That felt like the right place to begin.
One note led to another, simple and clean, slow and attentive.
It expanded gradually, with intention and clarity.
Ideas I’ve been considering layered over each other.
Playfulness appeared and danced around in sonic territory I’d never heard before.
When it gently ended, I sat there in quiet gratitude and whispered,
“That’s how growth happens.”
Maybe the future is more open than I thought.
At Work
When things feel unstable, it’s easy to react fast.
Send the email.
Clarify your position.
Fix the wobble.
But in music, if you rush after a shaky note, you usually make it louder.
Sometimes the cleanest move is to pause, feel the tempo again, and re-enter simply.
Not louder.
Just clearer.
In Relationship
I’ve also been pondering how conversations get awkward sometimes.
Those moments where we want to interrupt, defend, explain... make sure our POV makes it to the table.
In improvisation, that’s the urge to fill space before the phrase has finished.
When we let the phrase land, the next note often takes care of itself.
Timing is everything.
"Silence is more important than sound." Miles Davis
In Yourself
Here’s another question I’ve been sitting with:
What season am I actually in?
Sometimes I feel deeply aligned with the seasons here in Western North Carolina. Other times, less so.
Today, for example, I'm hibernating in thoroughly satisfying alignment with it being 26 degrees outside.
Some seasons are about letting go.
Some are about resting.
Some are about building again.
If you’re still shedding something, that matters.
If you’re tired, that matters.
But if you feel that quiet sense of readiness, not hype, not urgency, just steadiness, that might be Spring.
As my good friend and long-time teacher Kedar Brown puts it,
"When we let go enough, Spring just comes by itself."
How can we tell deep down when it’s time to move...
and when it’s time to wait?
For pondering
What would you like to see or experience in the world, your work, your community, your family, or in yourself in the next 6 months?
What do you notice inside as you think of that?
What seems to be wanting to happen?
Stillness...
or movement...
or stillness...
or movem... ?
A 5 Minute Practice
Tap a slow, steady pulse on your desk or your chest.
While you tap, say one sentence out loud that you’ve been hesitating to say.
Not the biggest one.
Just a true one.
Keep the rhythm steady as you speak.
Notice what shifts.
That’s the work.
Responding with Dignity
Earlier this week I led a session called
Responding with Dignity: When Certainty Isn’t Available
hosted by Dr. Beatrice Anduze-Faris, the Trauma Sherpa.
We explored how to stay steady when clarity doesn’t arrive on demand.
Practical.
Ongoing.
I’m deeply grateful to Beatrice for hosting. Having experienced her deep healing work first hand, I'm glad to share that she is currently convening grounded spaces for trauma survivors to find relief, connection, and new ground. If this resonates, you can explore her work further on YouTube.
Practicing This in Real Time
There are three doors:
The Doors
Simple entry points - Listening. Drum. Piano.
No performance. Just rhythm.
The Core (3 Months)
A steady container for building timing, technique, and trust over time.
You can enter the Core through Tune Yourself on Drum or Tune Yourself on Piano.
1:1
And if you’re in the middle of something real or would simply prefer to work privately, I have 1:1 spaces open.
Nothing is wrong.
It’s mostly about timing.
If you’d like support practicing this, you’re welcome here.
Explore more at PlayYourWay.us
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