What is your perfect opportunity to thrive ?

[m1469]

I am curious what you may feel is your perfect or ideal "opportunity" or environment to thrive as a person and/or musician.  Do you feel you are "waiting" for something in particular in order to be able to be more of who you are ?

For example, perhaps you are waiting for a gig to play with a certain symphony because you may feel that this would showcase something in particular for you, or it would mean you have "arrived" somewhere in particular.

Or, perhaps you have thoughts on what your "perfect" environment would be in order to really develop/express yourself in the ways that you feel you would like to (if only your circumstances were such).

In any event, if you would like to share, I would like to know.

Thanks,
m1469

[shortyshort]

If I did not need to work for a living. 

That would be a nice environment to develop my goals. 

Not much hope at the moment. 

[Bob]

.

[quantum]

For me, a lot of times it has been the opportunity that came as I was waking down the path.  I took my skills and applied it to whatever task was needed, and also learn a few things along the way.  This knowledge accumulates and prepares you to do new things in the future. 

[m19834]

Something that started me thinking about this topic were a couple of shows I have recently watched on TV.  One was about Judy Garland and her life as an artist, and one was a movie with Jody Foster who plays a woman who had a child that was a genius, and what it was like for her to raise this child.

A theme that stood out to me in both of these scenarios was that of "opportunity" that the real Judy Garland seemed to seek, as well as the mythical character in the movie with Jody Foster (I don't know the name of the movie, but the little boy's name in the movie is "Fred").

As I watched these two broadcasts, I started to ponder the importance of "opportunity" and environment even more than before.  Judy Garland, for example, sought out roles that gave her greater capacity to show more of who she was as an artist, and as it turns out, her life as an artist was really quite difficult.  The little boy within the movie also needed an environment that was conducive to helping him develop more of who he was.

I have been wondering for awhile what my needs actually are ?  What kinds of opportunities am I am actually seeking ?  I have been wondering what types of repertoire I need to be studying in order to find perhaps these "golden nuggets" that I think I am looking for ?

In thinking about this topic, I have pondered the importance of conflict and turmoil.  I think that people believe these two things are necessary components of growth and while I will not argue at this point with this position, I do wonder if whatever evidence seems to suggest these things to be present along with or just before growth and development is not actually quite misleading ?  People just observe its presence in most occasions of a time of growth and their brain (seeking patterns and logic), jumps to the conclusion that just because it is present in many cases, it is therefore apparently "necessary." 

Would my ideal or perfect learning environment necessarily include conflict, since the aim of the environment is to grow and due to observation of our surroundings during the time of growth it seems almost always present ?

I tend to think of my perfect opportunity as having endless supplies of books and art and poetry, rivers, valleys, mountains, oceans.  I think of having people to discuss topics of interest with, and true friends on whom I could count on.  I think of being nurished with love and support.  I think of having some representation of everything I would learn about, right there with me, or at least the means of travelling to it.  And of course, time alone to ponder and imagine and be at deep peace within myself.

As I pondered those thoughts further, I wondered if the world is not already the ideal learning environment and the ideal "opportunity" ?  Perhaps what I struggle with more is knowing how to really use what is already present within the world.  I feel limited by finances, for example.  I feel limited by the thought and belief of limitation itself.

I suspect that my perfect learning environment is one in which I somehow, in a sense, already know that which I believe I seek.  Some part of me believes that all of the answers to all of the questions are somewhere already present within our lives.