Lessons in Gratitude Day 21

They say something happens when you do something for 21 days–it becomes a habit. I’ve been writing this blog for 21 days, and while I’m not sure that I could say it’s a habit yet, it is something that crosses my mind throughout the course of any given day and I find myself sitting down in the evenings to write. Now I seem to have gotten myself into another daily activity–playing my guitar. The other night I was chatting with my daughter, who was somewhat out of sorts about a variety of things and not feeling very good. I asked her, “Have you played your guitar today?” To which she replied that she hadn’t. “It might help you feel better if you did.” I suggested, then in a moment of sheer madness (or something) I said, “Tell you what, let’s commit to each of us playing our guitars for 21 straight days.”

What was I thinking?? With all the other things I am supposed to attend to, did I really need to add playing my guitar for the next 21 days? That’s a long time to do something. Every day?? But, I had committed to it, and just to be sure I couldn’t wriggle out of it, I told my son who is sure to nag me about it. He’d been trying to get me to play regularly for many, many months. Back then I’d excused myself from playing by saying I didn’t have the time or energy to play. I can hardly use that excuse now when I have all sorts of time. There’s no doubt he will remind me. And now that I’m writing it here, I’ve little doubt that someone who reads these daily musings will periodically ask me how it’s coming along.

So last night was day one of playing my guitar. I played and sang for about 20 minutes. Tonight I played and sang for about 40 minutes. My playing is rusty and my fingers are a little sore from mashing down 12 steel strings, but my voice didn’t sound too bad. I realized this evening when I was playing that this was something I used to love to do. I played, I sang, I wrote songs–good ones. Of course that was way (way) back in college when I was most prolific in my songwriting and even performed a few places back in those days. But even now I can feel hints of the energy and power that resonates from within me and outside of me when I play. I played tonight even though I didn’t much feel like it, and I’m glad I did.

Once upon a time I thought I might do something with my music–record it, sell it, perform it (though I was a little too shy to perform much.) Now those grand ideas are mostly only small little inklings. But I can play for myself and occasionally for my friends once I get the rust off. Reconnecting with music will be for me, I believe, another tool in helping rebuild and repair something in me that got knocked down and has been a little shaky lately.  Like writing this gratitude blog has been. I have no idea what’s going to happen over the next 21 days, especially doing two things I love: writing and playing music. But we’ll see, and you can come along for the ride.