Recently a commentator on the radio says, “ A musical instrument is a work in progress.” On hearing his statement my first reaction is surprise. For example, I think of a violin as being a violin and always the same, or it wouldn’t be a violin. As I listen longer I realize he means that musical instruments have evolved over time. As time passes they are made from new and different materials and even take on new shapes. The commentator then gives several examples. Now I understand his point and my thinking changes. I reflect that not only musical instruments change over time, everything does. Everything is a work in progress.
In an echo of this line of thought, Joy Ladin, in an interview with Krista Tippett of “On Being” (www.onbeing.org) suggests that we are always a ratio of being and becoming. Hearing this statement soon after my epiphany about musical instruments as works in progress reinforces this concept; everything is a work in progress and everything is therefore a ratio of being and becoming. Even a rock, even our planet. The difference among all things is the rate of speed of becoming versus being. A rock will change or evolve, by our human perspective, very slowly. It may erode, or “metamorphize” into something new. The life of the mayfly is a matter of weeks. Its rate of becoming is swift and its span of being is short as it develops into an adult.
Of course there is another dimension to becoming. To become something new or different, something else has to go. That instruments are made from new materials means the old materials are no longer used. Becoming and change mean both losing and then gaining. But loss must come first or there is no room for the new. This is the hard part.
What about us humans? I remember when I was a kid I thought that adults never changed. They looked the same, said the same things, and did the same things year after year. Now an adult, I know otherwise. I realize that my childish horizon of time did not have the capacity to perceive adult change. But we adults do have to remind ourselves that we, too, are works in progress. Our passage through our lives requires us to adapt, to change and hopefully not just change, but grow. This means both losing and gaining. The more we are open to this, the more we can embrace the whole process of becoming and experiencing a fuller life.