Fight, Flight and the Power of Peace

​Yesterday a friend of mine from long ago posted a song of his on YouTube that I had played on – it was my first time into a real recording studio.  My fingers used to freeze in my own living room as soon as I turned on the tape player, so this was a big deal.  I had practiced and practiced and I was so ready, only worried about the mental game.  We did two takes.  What an experience – I wish everyone could do this. After I had finished what I was supposed to do and what I had practiced, the engineer continued the music and asked me, through my headphones, to improvise on the end.  I had relaxed considerably, having finished what I was there to do, so I went with it.  What I did wasn’t brilliant – on the fly all I could come up with was so simple.  But in the end, the work I had practiced got cut and what I had improvised, in my relaxed, “this doesn’t matter” state was saved for the final recording…
 
The point is this. When we are stressed, or in fight or flight, what we produce has that energy around it.  Our best work comes from a state of peace.