THE PIANO
Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the
piano,
a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated,
the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle
to
greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the
concert
hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a
door
marked "NO ADMITTANCE."
When the houselights dimmed and the concert was
about
to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child
was missing. Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on
the
impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy
sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle
Little
Star."
At that moment, the great piano master made his
entrance,
quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't
quit.
Keep playing." Then leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left
hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached
around
to the other side of the child and he added a running obbligato.
Together,
the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation
into a wonderfully creative experience. And the audience was mesmerized.
Whatever our situation in life and history -
however
outrageous, however desperate, whatever dry spell of the spirit,
whatever
dark night of the soul - God is whispering deep within our beings,
"Don't quit. Keep playing. You are not alone. Together we will
transform
the broken patterns into a masterwork of my creative art. Together, we
will mesmerize the world with our song of peace."
Author unknown