The sound of an acoustic guitar takes my breath away as I’m transported to another world.
I don’t know why.
(Honestly, there’s no need to either.)
The guitar is more than an instrument.
Those six strings somehow create a magically surreal experience.
I took guitar lessons – twice.
I practiced. Then practiced some more.
But for the life of me, about all I can do with the guitar is make myself cringe and gasp.
If chickens could pluck, they would play better than I can.
Logic and reason wants to cry “persevere, my dear!”
I’m not so sure.
Mastery is a concept of the mind, not the heart.
In that alone may have been my undoing.
I made the guitar an achievement, the end, a goal.
Like good grades, sewing a zippered jacket or building a perfectly straight wall.
Practicing to get good was not the path to hear my heart sing.
Had I just let go I would have found what my heart knew.
The space in between the notes.
The vibration of another world.
Something greater than the strum.
My mind wanted to control the guitar, replicate what I thought I heard.
The frustration came in not understanding my heart wanted to get lost.
Lost in nowhere, which is everywhere, instead of being somewhere.
This is the heart of a different practice,
or is that the different practice of heart?
There is no end to pursue, just a being.
The path unfolds, not planned.
Listen and pay attention rather than make happen.
The practice of mastery is filled with doing.
The practice of heart is filled with being.
Mixing the two tends towards mixed results, as my guitar experience will attest.
Living Bliss is a jump-in-with-both-feet look at where Life bumps into the everyday – whether at work, play or times in between. Bliss knows no separation in the end. From a deeper dive into the ordinary pops forward the extraordinary life we search for – and has been there waiting for us to be.
Blissed by cats, potatoes and clouds, Lorraine is a “left-brained creative big picture idea” type who never stops questioning or connecting the dots to make real what isn’t yet seen. She uses her knack for combining intuitive abilities and logic to help re-ignite what Lights you up inside and make real “there’s something more”. Lorraine’s deepest wish is for you to be full of yourself in everything you do – a life truly lived in bliss.
Practice makes you better, being better makes you happy.
What a great concept, I wish I could have thought of that!
Clint, great summary of the distinction between the practices of doing and being. Love it!
As a guitar player in a state of perpetual beginner-hood, I really appreciated this read. It’s always amazing to me how quickly my mind goes from enjoyment to “getting good.”
“I’ll take a melody, and see what I can do about it. I’ll take a simple C to G and feel brand new about it.”
–Allen Toussaint (via Jerry Garcia Band.)
LOL – I know that feeling Peter. The times I most in-joyed plucking away at the guitar was when I wasn’t taking lessons. There was no pressure to get anywhere or accomplish anything. I bought a tin flute a few years back and pull it out every once in a while to play – whatever comes through. I don’t have a single song sheet to follow and don’t even attempt to replicate what I might be able to a la Three Blind Mice for example. Great wonders are held in that transition from C to G!
Hello Mrs Lorraine,
Your mind wants to play the guitar but your heart … ? It seems that your heart just wants to express herself somehow … but not this way. She wants music but not the strenuous work of learning a guitar method. You just need another mean to express your feelings.
Where there is a contradiction between mind and heart you are stuck. No matter how much you try it doesn’t work. Sometimes, for some people, when the willpower is very strong, you can learn such a thing. However, after a while you will abandon it as your heart doesn’t … sing.
I think you just need a way to connect your mind and your heart. Then you will know instantly what you want, what you need, what you can and what you will do.
To your success
Have a wonderful day full of bliss
An important point to highlight Silviu – that the opposing directions of mind and heart leaves one stuck in the middle of a tug of war. Playing the guitar for the sake of becoming lost in the vibration breaks the tension and lets my heart through. With no end in sight other than to be present and follow, my mind has a tough time regaining control.
Hi Lorraine. I can really relate to this post. I am a musician, and playing the guitar was a dream of mine since high school. I’ve played it and taught it for many years, but I still find myself feeling that frustration of hearing the music in my brain and trying to get my body to come through with it. The piano is more my instrument for playing what I hear and feel, but I’ll never give up the dream of guitar – or the guitars. I have six of them 🙂
This is such a lovely post – more like poetry than a blog post. Very moving.
All the best,
Leslie
I’m struck by your comment about teaching guitar but not being able to play the way you hear. Fascinating. I wonder if we all have some instrument, or some thing, that is always just out of reach like that. We’ve created a situation for ourselves to deeply understand the meaning and purpose of “check brain at door before proceeding”. Thank you.