French news and jazz solos.

    While walking in Central Park today and listening to a French news podcast on my Air Pods, I realized that I could let the fast-talking French shoot past my brain, leaving only a "Frenchness", which I do like, or I could concentrate and try to grasp every syllable and perhaps come close to actually know what was being discussed. The latter takes a lot more brain power, but of course, it's also great brain training.

I love the French language, and when I have walked down the streets of Paris and listened to people chat, it's as if each person was carrying a sax or trumpet and improvising jazz. That's how much I like French.

The same thing happens when I listen to a fast or intricate jazz solo. If John Coltrane is wailing and exploring on sax in my ears, I can either let the "Coltrane-ity" saturate my mood, or I can try to focus enough in the present and know what notes he's playing.

If you go to the beach and stand in the water and a wave comes, you can either get hit or you can ride the wave. Same with French, same with jazz. Same with your daily life. That's "mindfulness" or "being present."

If I can latch on to the fast French, I feel remarkably similar to riding the Coltrane solo (or Oscar Peterson or Chick Corea, or whoever you like).

Since I know this about my jazz listening, I'm trying to use the same basic skill to hear the French news.

So, if you see me in the park looking nowhere intently, I might be listening to fast French. If I'm also snapping my fingers on beats two and four, it's probably jazz.