If a person has a talent toward music or art, do they absolutely have to play, or paint, or write creatively in order to be fulfilled and truly happy and well in their mind and spirit? I may be a bit predjudice, but my answer is a resounding yes!In the music community, sadly even the church music community, there is a type of snobbery. There are excellent church musicians who know without a doubt that they are excellent performers. This does not make them excellent human beings, however. These people are generally ones I tend to stay away from as they are generally picky and difficult to please.
The saddest feeling in the world is to have a fellow musician make you feel as though the talent God gave you is somehow sub-standard and not worthy to be used. The Bible clearly states that we are not to be a stumbling block to others, but I can honestly say that I've been made to feel as though I'm not good enough to serve. I've stumbled over that stumbling block. It would take a great deal of healing for me to ever use my talent in church ever again. Nothing hurts more than the competitive spirit that rears its ugly head and seeks to make one musician somehow superior over another. In the church there should be no such spirit. In the church you find that very spirit more often than in the world - sadly.
I'm not the best piano player in the world - never claimed to be. All I know is, I'm never happier than when I'm sitting at a piano making music. I do not play much by ear - mostly by note. I do not write my own music like, say, Yanni - I wish I did! But I don't have to make a living at it - I just have to play. That's where the joy is - and whether anyone is listening to me play or not is immaterial really. I play for my own enjoyment these days.
We may define therapy as a search for value. - Abraham Maslow
I have learned in the past few years that I am not "just" a pianist. To place my entire value as a person on that one tiny piece of who I am is to deny myself the opportunity to discover that I am so much more! It makes me feel so free to know that I don't have to be the best. Performance pressure is no longer even almost a part of who I am. I feel so free in the knowledge that I do not have to be perfect. The one who said "practice makes perfect" - lied - lied big time! Practice serves to make one better - but there are pieces that I know will never be played perfectly. Pieces I have practiced my entire life - but they are still just as awful sounding as they were the first time I picked up the music.
Music should not be about excellence in music-making, but touching the lives of others. There should be more to music than an exceptional performance. There should be joy - and all who hear the music should experience the joy with you. No one should be discouraged from playing - no one! Everyone who learns to play has found some level of passion in music and that should never ever be trampled by anyone! Who do some people think they are? I don't care if you've played in Carnegie Hall - you have no right to tell me my music is sub-standard and worthless! Respect each other for the talent GOD gives. Here's a newsflash for ya: If God did not see fit to hand out talents, we'd all be in the dumpster!
We all search for value in this life. It took me a very long time and a lot of soul searching to make this one great discovery. God loves me - Linda. Not Linda, the piano player or the teacher or the creative writer, but Linda - His child.
Yes, there is a sense of wellness in my spirit when I'm sitting at a piano, but it no longer defines who I am. I play - it makes me happy to play - it heals my spirit. Nobody else has to hear me - it's okay. God hears me - and when I play, it's at that moment my heart is wide open and allowing Him to speak to me.
Enjoy "Broken Wings"
http://youtu.be/mB4HfaI-4U4
Today is NATIONAL PUNCH DAY!!!!!!!!!!! Whether you drink your favorite punch or punch your favorite person, have a great day!
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