Rhythms and Ruts

Rhythm is defined as movement with a pattern recurrence of a beat or accent. Life is full of rhythms. From my perspective, we wrestle finding the "right" rhythms, work through rhythms that don't seem to fit the grandeur symphony of life, and at other times find our "groove."  Rhythms are great things. They allow us to find structure within chaos, solidarity within the movement of life, and a pattern that allows us enough creativity to flourish while giving us the opportunity to adjust to the unique and unexpected "notes" we find ourselves in.

Rhythms unattended become ruts. They become the same old pattern with no imagination or creativity. They become safe rather than sound, mundane rather than inspirational. A lifetime of being a drummer has taught me that rhythms and patterns adjust and adapt to different people you play with. With inexperience, we have one pattern, one time, and find it hard to join the music. With more experience, you learn different styles, understand how to play with others, and understand the musical piece and how it was intended while still being able to be creative with it. With the evolution of life in general, rhythms are always emerging and undergoing change. If we don't adjust our rhythms to the movement of the symphony, we become out of place or even out of touch. 

Ruts show us that we have been somewhere but they also show us that we have been there too long, or maybe against our better judgement. Growing up on a farm and using heavy machinery like tractors, when spring rolled around, ruts were formed. Pathways that show how easy it is to get stuck when the snow thaws and the rains come. They show signs of struggle. Summer comes, the heat and aridity solidify the once deep, soft gashes in the ground. At this point, you know where the ruts are and you avoid them. If you are careless you fall back into them and though you might not get stuck again, it is an unpleasant and unexpected jolt. 

Rhythms create new pathways. Roads worn by use, roads that show you this is the best way to go. Ruts reveal that even good pathways can become treacherous. The beauty of music is that it has endless possibilities, revealing some well worn pathways and yet inviting one to make a new pathway. The question that life begs is if we will allow ourselves to continue to be inspired and create new songs out of our circumstances, accept a "niche" and continue to involve that pathway, or if we will stay in the elementary of just understanding the basics of how things work without pushing ourselves to explore new boundaries to avoid making a good pathway a detestable rut.