The curse of filling in the blanks

Improvising on the organ vs playing written out music
Composing a piece vs writing dictation
Free improvisation vs hymn-based improvisation
A fugue with free counter-subject vs a fugue with fixed counter-subject
Supplying an alternate harmonization to the hymn vs playing from the hymnal
Creating a story that connects with your reader vs writing a how-to article with 11 ways of doing something
Giving a presentation that inspires the listener to take action vs using PowerPoint with bullet points
Coming up with an essay vs answering multiple choice questions
Drawing something from imagination vs working on a coloring book
Choosing a career vs imagining your own path

What do all these things have in common?

It's always easier and more tempting to pick the second item.

Why?
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Because of fear of making the wrong choice.

We are afraid that out of limitless possibilities to create something out of void we will move to the wrong direction. Because of this fear we choose a seemingly less risky path of what we did before only a little better and a little faster. This seemingly save path let's us off the hook to wait for somebody else to give us instructions instead of us coming up with instructions.

But in this ever changing world the qualities we seek out in an organist, an artist, a person have always to do with being comfortable at figuring out what to do next.

​Moving to the wrong direction is better than waiting.

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Ausra's Harmony Exercise:
Modulation from C Major to E Minor: I-V43-I=VI-ii65+-i64-V-V7/6-i-iv64-i

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