What do crossword puzzles and group singing have in common?
I do crosswords precisely because they’re pointless.
Okay, I don’t think crossword puzzles are pointless. I think they’re great. But I think doing them is pointless.
I don’t do them to train my brain, or to get better at them, or to learn new facts. I don’t do them to compete, I don’t do them to make a living, I don’t do them for social camaraderie. (All of those things happen, from time to time. But they aren’t the purpose.)
I do them because they are a diversion with no external motivation. I do them, to paraphrase Mallory about Everest, because they’re there.
I think it’s healthy – even necessary – to have a pointless diversion. Especially in 2022, when every diversion is a craft or a side hustle or a future career. Doing something just for diversion feels rebellious, even revolutionary.
The things is, for many of our choristers, that it what singing in the choir is. For all our talk about the benefits of group singing (how it can change the world through human connection, how it lights up the whole brain, how it creates community), the truth is that lots of singers sing because it’s a particularly nice way to spend 2 hours a week.
Respecting that viewpoint is essential.