An effective path to joy

Back when I was in the music business, we had a saying that kept performances from going stale when we had played the same work many, many times. It went like this: "No matter how many times you've performed Nutcracker [or whatever], there's someone out there in the audience hearing it for the very first time."

It was many years after I heard the saying that I realized there was also someone out there hearing it for the very last time.

Then today I found this:

Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first time or last time. Then your time on Earth will be filled with joy.

— Betty Smith in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A powerful way to live. Truly.