A Piano of Possibilities

For some time now, I have been wanting to learn how to play the piano. But for some reason, I think when you hit about 21, you start to think that you can’t learn to do new things, that you can only build on what you already know. I would think, “I wish I’d learned to play the piano.” like my time was up or something. If you have read the “About Me” page of this blog, then you know that I am in this little sliver of time in my life where I am feeling a bit invincible. I have just had this sudden realization that if I want to do something, I just have to do it. I was sitting on my porch a couple of weeks ago, listening to “Clair de Lune” by Debussy and thinking about how I never learned to play the piano, and then realized I could if I wanted to. I texted my friend Wyley who gives lessons and said I’d be ready to start the following week. Then I got online and found a piano and BAM, I had one. And not just any piano, I have a thing for antiques and this one happens to be 120 years old!

I went to my first lesson last night and I left thinking, “I will be a piano playing machine!” Hahaha. The point is that it is never to late to learn to do anything. I took some plum jam that I made to my 50 something year old neighbor, Leslie the other night and she said, “I never learned to make jam.” with a sad look on her face like she had missed her chance. I said, “I’ll teach you! It is never to late to learn.” Another friend told me she always wanted to be a Psychologist, but now she has a child and missed the boat. She can’t go to school full time. But she can take one class this semester. It may take longer to get her degree than it would a single 19 year old, but she can still do it at the pace her circumstances allow.

There are definitely things that you need some talent for, but most things can be learned to some degree. I have a long list of things I want to learn or improve upon, like knitting, baking artisan bread or playing the cello. I have a lot of time to do it. I think another beautiful part of it is that we all have something to teach each other. We can all give to one another and help each other become the people that we want to be. My book discussion group is going to turn into a “teach & learn” group for the fall. We are going to take one night a week to learn to do something we’ve been wanting to know how to do. Everyone teaches, and everyone learns. It is a really special thing to be able to contribute to someone’s life in a way that empowers them. If I take the time to teach Leslie to make jam, she will then do it on her own, knowing she is doing something she has always wanted to do and that she is capable to do even more. And I get to experience what it is to give of myself into someone else’s life. This is what my friend Wyley who is teaching me to play the piano is doing for me.

It’s just a piano, but sometimes when I look at it, I am thinking about my capability as a human being. It inspires me to open my mind to anything and everything I want to be. Life situations can alter the way we achieve things, but they cannot completely stifle us. If you want to lose 15 pounds, you don’t need a gym membership, you can run around your neighborhood. If you want to start a vegetable garden, you can learn to do it. If you want to homeschool your kids, you CAN! You just have to find a path to what you want that works with your life.