A second strategy for safeguarding a tradition is found in the process of discernment: which elements of the tradition should be preserved? Which should be discarded? This process is quite challenging. As behavioral economists (Kahneman, 2011; Ariely, 2008) have repeated shown, we tend to hold on to what we already have. The joy we anticipate from successfully doing something new is much less motivating than the sorrow we anticipate from losing something we already possess. Even more painful is the regret we anticipate after having given away or lost something that once was of great value to us. We can imagine the sons of J. S. Bach grieving the sale or disposal of some their father’s manuscripts by less discerning (or at least less musically inclined) members of their family.
There is a third strategy, one that enables us to have our cake, and eat it too, with regard to Generative Safeguarding. We can celebrate a tradition, but not embrace it too tightly. Like the sons of J. S. Bach, we can occasionally review and appreciate old documents. C. P. E. Bach can play one of his father’s work, while working on his own radically different composition. The Mardi Gras festivals that are held throughout the world represent old and revered traditions that are not engaged during most of the year—and are often not taken too seriously even when enacted. There are many such festivals, fairs and carnivals that come to town once a year. Matthew Miles (1964) has written about temporary systems that allow us to engage elements of ourselves that are not usually part of our daily routine and persona. We honor the tradition without getting too “uptight” in terms of engaging it every day of our life.
A fourth strategy stands in stark contrast to the third. We take some traditions quite seriously and wrap them around our daily living, even though we live in a modern and nontraditional society. Observant Orthodox Jewish and Muslim colleagues find ways to engage their elaborate traditions while also living and working in a contemporary, secular society. The challenge is great for these men and women, especially in a world that is becoming increasingly suspicious of those who dress differently, practice restricted diets, and choose to allocate time each day to religious devotions. J. S. Bach devotees refuse to play anything other than the work of Papa Bach (and perhaps a few other Baroque composers). Like those who abide by orthodox religious traditions, these Bach enthusiasts must remain in a silo and limit their contacts to those who share their own tastes in classical music. The gulf is wide for all those who embraced this fourth strategy.
The fifth and probably most impactful strategy for many people is to set aside space where the tradition can be fully honored. Nothing but J.S. Bach music can be played at a Bach festival. The Bach heritage is being preserved and celebrated. Certain islands in Hawaii are reserved for safeguarding traditional Hawaiian culture. National parks, land trusts and game preserves have boundaries and are protected. Theme parks are established to emulate and look after old traditions. All these safeguards can be identified by a single word, which is itself wrapped in tradition: sanctuary.
We need sanctuaries in our lives, both because they can be re-creating and because they are often sources of new learning or the remembrance and enforcement of old learning that has been forgotten or ignored. We see the role of sanctuary being played out in many acts of generativity. Sanctuaries are temporary systems. They are about the sacred and about that which we wish most to safeguard. Sanctuary is a place of deep caring. It is a place where we can explore and even temporarily embrace alternative perspectives, values and preferences, while still holding on to our current perspective, values and preferences. We can be a traditionalist while also being an innovator—as in the case of C.P. E. and J.C. Bach.
Remnant
There is a good reason why Papa Bach’s sons preserved their father’s manuscripts. They recognized that while they were moving on to a new world of “classical” music, they could fully appreciate the artistry of their father’s music—and could recognize that certain elements of their father’s work were themself revolutionary in its time (in such areas as counterpoint, modulation and harmony). They also preserved what Papa Bach wrote because it just might become relevant again at some point in the future—which ended up being the case (Bach’s music is still extensive in the 21st Century repertoire of classical music).
