A creia involving Casals

 If you halfway buy the notion that creia can be used as building blocks for constructing a sense of morality, you might look around you. You’ll find examples everywhere.

Here’s one featuring Pablo Casals, the cellist, who was still playing Bach’s cello suites when I was boy. When Casals turned 90, some reporter was told to go interview the famous man.

Asked why he continued to practice the cello at 90, Casals replied: “Because I think I’m making progress.”

That assertion is neither right or wrong. But the anecdote is in my memory because it’s useful, especially now that I am old. If Casals thinks progress is possible at 90, I’m not going to whine about my late 60s. (Well, maybe I won’t whine so loudly.)

The suggestion that these kinds of stories can be used to construct a sense of morality appeared Tuesday (“Collecting creiai, Jan. 3, 2023).

Here’s a corollary: I’ve found that people in the arts — musicians, painters, sculptors, actors, dramatists, dancers, poets — have had suggestions about moral behavior that are more useful to me than the suggestions of professional moralists.

If you doubt that, here’s a test: Ask people you know what makes a person human.

I’ve known people would could go on for hours.

When asked, Casals said: “The ability to care.”