Life is Like a Musical Instrument

Life is like a musical instrument. It can sound mellifluous or cacophonous depending on the player who is playing it. Some instruments require a perfect stillness of the fingers, others, great dexterity. Some you have to beat while many you have to blow. Each one’s music is unique with some being outstandingly distinctive. Some are only ever designed for accompaniment. Some are very famous, others popular, and many, only too obscure.

In the hands of an expert, the instrument seems to come alive; so much so, it becomes hard to know who to appreciate more, the instrument or the player.

Some instruments are larger than life while many are smaller than a stapler; the same goes for players and their temperaments too. Intrinsically, an instrument is devoid of any essence, for, it is always the player who makes it sound either like a flowing river or falling rocks. It almost seems that any given instrument gives you very limited choice — one drum with a couple of sticks or seven notes and an octave or two, after all, in how many different ways can you play it. But, we all know, that the ‘player’ can just play tunes with each one sounding better than the others. What a miracle! Quite similarly, life is how you play it.

The player always comes up with more enigmatic, enchanting, unique tunes — tunes that stir your soul, the ones that can make you cry or laugh, tunes that you could have never perceived, but the player continues to surprise the world. What else can explain the existence of millions of soundtracks, instrumental or otherwise, across the globe? If you are able to play all the tunes that Mozart or Beethoven ever played, while that is commendable, it is not sufficient for the world to appreciate you or for history to grant you a place in its ranks.

If, however, you played only your own tunes outperforming or even outnumbering, qualitatively or quantitatively, any of the past greats, the world will respect you for your originality. Across all fields, the ones who come up with their own, original viewpoint, philosophy or theory are the ones who help society move forward.

Go on, play! But be sure to play your tune. Make your own music. Avoid blowing your own trumpet though. Add your own voice. Take training first, if necessary, so you learn better how to play. But never take training on what to play — you be the decision-maker on that. Play the most beautiful music present in you adding your inner voice. Once trained, you can produce the most seductive, enchanting, melodious and rapturous music, which upon hearing, your inner voice will find sound automatically in the manner most profound and sublime besides being original and unique.

Do not play anyone else’s tunes. Select your own instrument, play your own tune, why, conduct your own orchestra in a manner no less than grand, in a style no less than great with unmatched grace. Well, that will certainly require turning inward!

Please, but for the welfare of others, a public performance — only after you are ready to step outside the bathroom, robed appropriately.

Peace.
Swami