The Significance of the Word 'Maestro'

I imagine there are folks out there who are wondering why I chose the word 'Maestro' for the title of this blog and how it relates to the content that will appear herein. This gets a little technical but bear with me.

A 'Maestro' is a master in their field, particularly with regards to music. The Maestro is the conductor of the symphony, or the musical piece played by an orchestra, and the job of this distinguished professional is not well understood. For example, most people know that the conductor controls the tempo or speed that the symphony will be played, signals certain sections of the orchestra such as the horns (woodwinds) or the violins (strings) to pinpoint when they should begin playing, and specifies the loudness of the music. This is absolutely true, but the Maestro is also an interpreter of sorts for the composer of the musical score in that he must decide how the composer intended the symphony to be played, and must therefore intimately know the contributions that the different sections of the orchestra will make to the overall sound and tone of the symphony. The members of each section of the orchestra will have their own musical score which shows the music that they will be playing on their own instruments, but the Maestro will have a complete score showing the several sections of the music on one sheet, so this individual can see the 'big picture' with regards to the musical work in its entirety.

There are many comparisons that can be made between a symphony and life but I liked the idea of comparing myself to a Maestro because I like to think that I have experienced a great deal and learned a few things in my fifty-plus years and that I might be able to open other people's minds to a different point of view. But I also feel that all humans are really the 'Maestros' of their own lives because they make choices within the framework of their lives that will influence the outcomes that occur as a result, even in the case of experiences over which they have no control, in which case the choice becomes how to react in that moment. The point is, there is almost always a choice with regards to how you play the symphony of life. So, are you choosing to live life in an energetic and playful way, similar to the music played in a lively fashion which is identified as 'allegro' in a musical work, or are you engaging in an 'adagio' and 'grave' musical interlude, which is a slow and solemn melody played for a somber occasion, or is your life working up to a big, notable event that you will never forget similar to the music when it gradually becomes strident with intense drum beats and cymbal crashes like a 'crescendo', or are you retreating into a peaceful state like a piece of music descending into a quiet interval known as a 'diminuendo'? I am personally choosing the latter after a very busy and stressful life.

To your relief and mine, this is about as technical as I get when I write and the remainder of the posts will be far more tailored to describing my idiosyncratic personality and experiences.