Ping and Pong

I got a note from a school parent telling me how much her 5-year old enjoyed an online sing I had just done. As something that just got added to the kids’ schedule, there were only three kids there, so she was thanking me for taking the time. I wrote back:

There's an old Zen saying: "Sweep the garden. Any size."

Did an online workshop with 350 people in Canada last week and that was fun, but no more fun than singing with 3 kids! Loving how engaged and enthusiastic your son  is! The maddening part of online teaching is missing the give and take, the call and response, the ping and the pong with the kids and really, if anyone wonders how I've retained my energy and enthusiasm after 45 years of it, that's the answer. Like being plugged into a constantly renewing energy source. 

But what's even more remarkable is how a simple smile or motion or answer to a question from an image in a small gridded screen somehow comes through and gives that same kind of satisfaction! Online ping-pong is certainly not as fun, but we’re still in the game! 

And it’s true.