I challenge each ringer and director who reads this to think of the ringing experience as your sanctuary. It may take a shift in thinking, but the result will be well worth the effort. More times than I can count as conductor, I have said to my ensembles: ‘Leave your day behind as you walk through the door.’ The result is amazing! The ringers are more focused, more relaxed, and happier. I use the same idea myself as I enter the rehearsal room either as a ringer or a conductor and find that I do so much better. The days I simply can’t manage to leave it all outside the door, I have a much less successful rehearsal.
Handbells, handbell ringing, and working with and within ensembles are my therapy. Is it your therapy as well?