Not just for toddlers

justam

years ago, I had a job teaching piano at a private school
some of the students were between 3-5 years old
being too young for most early piano lessons,
the teachers had to improvise learning activities that involved the piano
with the most shy students,
i noticed that what they were really good at was feeling emotions
that was how they responded best to their lessons
do something silly and loud, they laughed
do something soft and lyrical, they might smile sweetly
the emotion was obvious to them
it was the way they learned best
for example, if the teacher
had a detached, distracted day, they looked lost
i realized that they were totally focused on emotional content
they were not separated from their feelings yet
it was wonderful the day I realized this
their heads were not leading, it was all emotion
I think as people get older, there are lots of layers covering this up
but
I think maybe it would be good to remember that in all situations,
that’s probably the most direct way to communicate with others