In An Another Kingdom the authors speak of re-performance as an important part of neighbourliness and community. The act of creating traditions and then allowing them to evolve over time with different participants, ideas, times, etc. That our traditions are dynamic and yet the repetition of their most essential parts brings us closer together to not only those we perform them with in the here and now, but those in the past who have performed them and those in the present who will.
I had the honour of singing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony today. I've listened to this symphony more times than I can even count and heard it live a handful of times. Each time has been different though. Even the multiple times we went through it this week were different. Each time I hear it, I hear something I've never heard before. It's hard to say whether that is because I'm paying attention to a new layer or the way the musicians are performing. Either way, there's something comforting about the certainty of it and yet this level of certainty sets you up for delight when you find something new. It's also neat to think about the connection I have through this piece to all the musicians who have performed this. Right back to Beethoven himself.
Being a Force for Good 