Lucy's piano lessons take place in the music building of a university near where we live.  While I was waiting for her yesterday, I was reading some of the stuff tacked up on various professors' office doors.  I came across the "10 Rules for Teachers and Students" by John Cage.

Before I share the rules, I should explain who John Cage was. 

John Cage (1912-1992) was a composer, print maker, performance artist, writer, philosopher, editor, teacher, mushroom expert, collaborator and poet. Fact is, John Cage had a lot of fun in his factory. Considered one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century, he produced works with one note, no notes, notes by chance, and a noted organ composition that takes 639 years to play.  (http://clicks.robertgenn.com/john-cage.php)

Now, I am not a huge fan of John Cage's music in general.  In high school, I attended a concert at Ham Hall on the UNLV campus and heard some of Cage's music.  I appreciate the "experimental" aspect and the creativity of his compositions, but honestly, the interesting part of most contemporary/modern music is in the study and performance of the work--not in the listening.

Okay, back to yesterday during Lucy's lesson and John Cage's 10 rules for teachers and students.  I read through the list, and I really liked them!  I came home and looked them up, and it seems that a lot of people like them as well.  I think there are some good ideas for life in his list, especially #5, #7, and #9.  Here they are:

1. Find a place you trust, and then try trusting it for awhile.
2. General duties of a student--pull everything out of your teacher; pull everything out of your fellow students.
3. General duties of a teacher--pull everything out of your students.
4. Consider everything an experiment.
5. Be self-disciplined--this means finding someone wise or smart and choosing to follow them. To be disciplined is to follow in a good way. To be self-disciplined is to follow in a better way.
6. Nothing is a mistake. There's no win and no fail, there's only make.
7. The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It's the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things.
8. Don't try to create and analyze at the same time. They're different processes.
9. Be happy whenever you can manage it. Enjoy yourself. It's lighter than you think.
10. Break rules. Even your own rules. Leave plenty of room for X quantities.

HINTS:
Always be around.
Come or go to everything.
Always go to classes.
Read anything you can get your hands on.
Look at movies carefully, often.
Save everything - it might come in handy later.

John Cage's favorite saying was, "Every day is a good day."  I think life would be much easier if I woke up with that attitude every single day.  I don't know if this comes from being a philosopher or a mushroom expert, but either way, I guess I was a little inspired by reading those rules.  Good for me.



P.S.  Some have argued that these rules were not written by John Cage, but rather by a teacher named Corita Kent.  Well, whatever.  I liked it, and I don't care who wrote it.