Guitar lessons of life
I have loved music for as long as I can remember. I only learned to make music much later in life, though. I started playing guitar when I was 13 years old. I remember clearly how I didn't make progress quickly enough (to my liking) and stopped playing after only a month's worth of lessons. I started playing again after a couple of years.
I also remember how there were some exercises I didn't like doing. These were usually the menial, low-excitement exercises that didn't sound like my favourite songs, or any other music, at all. I just wanted to play the songs that sounded nice, the exercises that would leave people in awe of my skill, the things I was most comfortable with or the things I deemed necessary.
Thankfully I learned, through teaching others, that we all need to have the basics down to grow in playing guitar, or to become better musicians. Without a solid foundation of theory, being learnt through tedious (at times) exercises that seems meaningless and less glamourous, we'll only grow so far.
I think this is true for life too. There are three things I can apply from learning to play the guitar.
1. We all need a firm foundation in life. This may be in the form of some sort of religion, principles or credo that governs your life. For me this foundation is the faith that God loves me, shown through Jesus Christ's words, deeds, His whole life, and culminating in His sacrifice on the cross, His subsequent resurrection, bringing victory over sin, death and every conceivable (and inconceivable) thing in this world. What do you believe in?
2. Growing needs balance. We can't grow in only one part of our lives and expect to be unshakable in our beliefs. We need to grow in a balanced way. I think this comes through not only doing the things we want to, or the things we feel comfortable doing, but also to step up and do the things we're less comfortable with or even the things we don't want to do (that are good). We'll reap the fruits later, but not yet. So keep the faith! Stay strong! What we're doing now, however menial and tedious, will have consequences later on. Will yours be good?
3. We need to enjoy it. If playing guitar was something forced on me by my parents, I probably would have stopped playing altogether. However, it's because I love music and love making it that I picked up my guitar after all those years, dusted her off and started playing, learning and exercising again. If life in general is something you find very hard work with little or no satisfaction, I would suggest that you rethink how you live and what you do. Life is not only joyful, but it also shouldn't be exclusively hard and troubled. Are you enjoying the good things as part of life?
What are the things that keeps you from picking up your guitar, getting some new strings on it, tuning her to perfection and playing loudly?
I also remember how there were some exercises I didn't like doing. These were usually the menial, low-excitement exercises that didn't sound like my favourite songs, or any other music, at all. I just wanted to play the songs that sounded nice, the exercises that would leave people in awe of my skill, the things I was most comfortable with or the things I deemed necessary.
Thankfully I learned, through teaching others, that we all need to have the basics down to grow in playing guitar, or to become better musicians. Without a solid foundation of theory, being learnt through tedious (at times) exercises that seems meaningless and less glamourous, we'll only grow so far.
I think this is true for life too. There are three things I can apply from learning to play the guitar.
1. We all need a firm foundation in life. This may be in the form of some sort of religion, principles or credo that governs your life. For me this foundation is the faith that God loves me, shown through Jesus Christ's words, deeds, His whole life, and culminating in His sacrifice on the cross, His subsequent resurrection, bringing victory over sin, death and every conceivable (and inconceivable) thing in this world. What do you believe in?
2. Growing needs balance. We can't grow in only one part of our lives and expect to be unshakable in our beliefs. We need to grow in a balanced way. I think this comes through not only doing the things we want to, or the things we feel comfortable doing, but also to step up and do the things we're less comfortable with or even the things we don't want to do (that are good). We'll reap the fruits later, but not yet. So keep the faith! Stay strong! What we're doing now, however menial and tedious, will have consequences later on. Will yours be good?
3. We need to enjoy it. If playing guitar was something forced on me by my parents, I probably would have stopped playing altogether. However, it's because I love music and love making it that I picked up my guitar after all those years, dusted her off and started playing, learning and exercising again. If life in general is something you find very hard work with little or no satisfaction, I would suggest that you rethink how you live and what you do. Life is not only joyful, but it also shouldn't be exclusively hard and troubled. Are you enjoying the good things as part of life?
What are the things that keeps you from picking up your guitar, getting some new strings on it, tuning her to perfection and playing loudly?
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