Before the control-minded Modern (scientific) world took over, composers did not give musicians a speed, or tempo, for a piece of music. The right tempo depended on what type of piece it was and on what would sound and feel the most natural (the Italian term for this is tempo giusto).

I’ve observed that each of us has a natural tempo, depending on how we feel and what we are doing.

Sometimes the natural speed is more about a task. Sometimes the natural speed is about a whole day.

What feels like the natural speed for what you are doing now?

How similar or different is it from the speed at which you are actually operating at?

What would it take to bring the two into alignment?

Would three deep, soul-filling breaths help right now?

Would it help to know that the God of Abraham and Sarah does not hurry? (Because to hurry means being beholden to a force outside of yourself.)

We are not God, of course. Most of us have a boss who wants things done in a certain way by a certain time. But we can also make room for the divine. And making room for the divine in our hearts also helps us find a tempo for ourselves that feels the most natural.

John Terauds, CPE Intern