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My son recently graduated college with a degree in Jazz Piano Performance. Truly, he has a gift, but he has also put in many hours of listening and learning and playing over the years. I look back to when he started lessons at age 8, learning the basic notes and playing with one hand. Piano was a bit of a chore. Then he added a second hand and learned chords. He eventually mastered pedals and inversions. The music became more complicated. Piano was a fun challenge. Eventually, he took all of these building blocks and started to learn how to improvise. His first attempts were not great, but he improved over time. Now, his improvisations flow seamlessly with the composer’s original piece. Piano is part of him. Playing brings him joy and is a gift to anyone who listens.
I see in these memories a reminder. We all have been given the gift of being created in love, by love, for love. When I accept that gift…open it, explore it, cherish it…I grow in love. When I accept that gift, God’s dream becomes my dream: for me to know and love God so well that all of my thoughts, words and actions become so infused with the love of God that what flows from me is indistinguishable from what flows from God. And what flows from me becomes a gift to myself and to those around me.
I have a lot more listening and learning and "playing" to do before I reach my own “graduation day," but with God's help, I'm taking it one step at time.
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