In the aftermath of the great food vs. sleep debate, the tally marks in each column were almost equal. Nearly as many of you would rather be able to be completely well-rested after only three hours of sleep as were those who coveted being able to eat anything without any ill-effects on their health.
Like many of you, I went back and forth weighing the merits of each. I am always running a sleep deficit, constantly staying up way too late writing and reading. I promise myself each night that I’ll go to bed before midnight, but rarely does that happen. So the idea of only needing three hours of sleep is hugely enticing. So many books to read and write, so little time…
Then again, I have a stupidly sensitive stomach, so I was also really drawn to being able to eat all of my favorite foods. I also considered the added bonus of being able to try all manner of exotic foods when I travel since I would never have any negative effects from that, either.
So what did I choose?
Since I can, theoretically, control how much sleep I get, but I cannot at this moment in my life control how my body reacts to certain foods, I am going to choose freedom with food.
If only these would you rather questions magically came true…
And now on to this week’s question…
Would you rather
be fluent in all languages
photo credit: ButterflySha via photopin cc
– OR –
a master at all musical instruments?
Just a sampling of the musical instruments out there for you to master. Who knew a sword was considered musical? Not me, that’s who. photo credit: drakegoodman via photopin cc
***
So which will it be, talented readers? Would you rather have lips that are loquacious in all languages? Or does your muse move you to become more musically motivated? The tea is ready for sippin’ and the pillows are ready for sittin’. As always, I love to hear from you.
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Ellen Gregory said:
My first thought was “instruments definitely”, but then I started thinking about how good it would be to be able to travel and speak the local lingo, not to mention all those books written in other languages.
So in the end it was much closer than I thought, but I’m still going with instruments… At the moment all I can do is sing, and I find that both inspiring and uplifting. I reckon it would be awesome to play other musical instruments — even if I had to choose only a few.
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Tami Clayton said:
This is a tough one for me as well for the reasons you stated. To be able to play any musical instrument would be so delightfully awesome. And I’m totally jealous of you for being able to sing. I would love to have a hauntingly beautiful voice.
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Ellen Gregory said:
er, yes, wouldn’t we all! Mine is NOT hauntingly beautiful. Merely adequate.
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Tami Clayton said:
Your ‘merely adequate’ is probably light years better than my best attempt at singing. I’d take adequate over what I’ve got. 🙂
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Brinda said:
I’d love to play all musical instruments. I have privately been a rock goddess playing drums in the Rock Band game, but I fail miserably when attempting the guitar. And that is as fluent as I get with musical instruments.
We had a real live piano in our home for years. My son took piano lessons at the local university for seven years. I loved hearing him play. A couple of years ago, I gave the piano to a young family with a daughter who’ll take lessons when she’s old enough. 🙂
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Tami Clayton said:
So you’re a drum goddess. That’s so rock ‘n’ roll. You should get your own kit and start playing some gigs on the side. You know, in all your free time. 😉
How nice of you to give your piano away. I would love to learn to play the piano. I just haven’t made the time to do so. Someday…
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Sherry Isaac said:
That’s a toughie, because music is communication in and of itself. Voice is more portable than a trombone, so I’m going to go with languages. Bonus, I can tell people I find irksome what I really think and they’ll never know. hehehe.
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Tami Clayton said:
“Voice is more portable than a trombone…” Wiser words were never spoken, at least so far today in the kasbah. And telling people off in a language they don’t understand is really the kindest way to do so. Not only will they not catch you doing it, but they’ll be impressed with your linguistic fluency. BONUS.
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Brandy Heineman said:
Definitely, definitely, I would rather be a master linguist than a master musician.
Not only could I communicate with all peoples, but never again would I have to decide between laying down a book to use Google Translate or skimming over a probably-important line in Italian or French. Meanwhile, I am presently one of those who can’t even clap on a beat, so giving up musical mastery doesn’t bother me, probably because I don’t really know what I’m missing!
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Tami Clayton said:
Agreed, knowing all foreign languages would be invaluable in so many ways. But, if you were a master musician, you would not only be able to clap on a beat, but also you’d probably be able to teach those who are less musically talented as you once happened to be. Just a thought… 🙂
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Marcia said:
The joy of “talk” is way up top on my love to do list. I already attempt to speak two languages…but fluent in ALL languages would be absolutely amazing,….awesome!
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Tami Clayton said:
I figured you would come down on the side of the master linguist. Just think of all the intake calls you could do with your super language skills! 🙂
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Janice Heck said:
Languages. I want to travel and interact with the people I meet and find out more about their daily lives and culture. Imagine what incredible stories they could tell. One of my bucket list goals is to live in another country and master the language, probably France since I have a few years of high school and college French. I did live in Hong Kong for seven years, but I worked full time, so I only learned a minimum of the language (taxi language and market language). So language wins in my book.
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Tami Clayton said:
The language option would be incredibly useful for those of us who love to travel. It would be so freeing to land in a foreign country and be able to communicate with anyone you encountered. I, too, would love to live in another country for several months to a year. I think my biggest problem would be deciding where to go. 🙂
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Rabia said:
I’d pick master of music over lord (lady!) of languages any day. Sure, there are great reasons for being able to speak all languages, but my heart and soul so *want* the musical mastery that the other option just pales in comparison.
Sometimes, you have to listen to your heart instead of your head. 😀
(You’d think as a writer I’d be all over more words, but nooooo….)
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Tami Clayton said:
I imagine you’d get great joy out of being a musical master. And just imagine the joy you’d bring to others with your masterful music skills!
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Suzanne Stengl said:
¡Por supuesto, quiero poder hablar todas las lenguas del mundo!
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Tami Clayton said:
My Spanish is a bit rusty but I think I was actually able to read and translate that without needing to use Google.
“Of course, I want to be able to speak all the languages of the world!”
If I’m correct, then I should thank you for giving me the chance to boost my self-esteem today. 😉
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Suzanne Stengl said:
¡de nada!
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Tami Clayton said:
I should have written ¡muchas gracias! 🙂
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Elizabeth Fais said:
That is a tough decision for me, Tami. I admire those who have musical talent, and would love to have that gift. But, after careful thought, I too will have to go with the ability to speak any language fluently. Music it is a type of language, so I’d like to be able to sight read music flawlessly too. 😉
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Tami Clayton said:
I was thinking you would have chosen music given your love of it. What swayed you to choose languages?
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Elizabeth Fais said:
I tried to play the guitar when I was much younger. That effort taught me a huge appreciation for music, especially since my boyfriend at the time was gifted and played several instruments. My cousin is a concert violinist, and she still practices hours a day. She also cannot just *listen* to music. I would never want to lose that ability to dimly enjoy music. I love to sing but never learned to sight read music. I’ve also always loved languages. So that is how/why my decision was swayed. 🙂
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Elizabeth Fais said:
dimly enjoy music ? Ah, no.
…simply enjoy music.
Much better!
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Tami Clayton said:
🙂
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Tami Clayton said:
It does seem like once you completely immerse yourself in learning something, you can lose a little of the enjoyment of experiencing it. Oddly enough, I haven’t found that to be true with writing. In fact, I think I enjoy books and movies more now that I know what I know about story structure, pacing, dialogue, etc. Thanks for sharing!