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The ability to immerse ourselves in the present, and to live in the moment, is one we must nurture. But it’s easier said than done. The composer Maurice Ravel realized this during the First World War. Deployed as a truck driver, Ravel was never safe from the relentless artillery shells, enemy snipers, poison gas and machine-gun fire as he zigzagged along cratered roads supplying the front lines. The stench of open latrines and rotting bodies was inescapable. Ravel suffered exposure, frostbite, and dysentery.
Early one sunny morning, Ravel drove through bombed out towns. The light was crisp and clear and in the distance he saw a wrecked chateau. Inside he miraculously discovered an Erard piano in perfect condition. He sat and played Chopin and the surrounding horror melted away. He created an ecstatic, exhilarating moment for himself. He became fully involved in the music and immersed himself in the present, later describing it as one of the highlights of his life.
How was Ravel able shut out the surrounding war? Reading Ravel’s letters and accounts of him by his friends, reveals that he understood his thinking and moods. He controlled his own thoughts and feelings rather than letting them control him.
All artists speak of how they lose themselves in their art. The outside world melts away and they are totally focussed on the task. As an artist, Ravel was used to this process and knew how to use it.
Copyright Rod Judkins
This article is based on a chapter from my new book The Art of Creative Thinking
