When I hear the word virtuosity, I think of the most talented person I know of in a given skill. See, even our language equates being highly skilled with exhibiting virtue. When did that happen?
I wish I could introduce you to the kids I’ve met who are burdened by the achievement of perfection that they begin to lose their sense of love and of being loved.
I wish I could show you what the pursuit of virtuosity, as it is defined today, has done to the individual voices in the artistic communities I find myself in. They flatten on account of the skill set’s demands, often being completely lost for the sake of the exhibition of the skill.
I’m not saying don’t pursue perfection. But the pursuit doesn’t have to be competitive. It doesn’t have to be pressured. It doesn’t have to be divisive or elitist. Why not use Love as the fuel, grace as the way, and experience joy as the product? Then virtuosity can actually be full of virtue.