I unintentionally found this inspiring story when I was read a book. That book gave an URL of a site by writers's friend. I open that site and I am feel lucky cause I can know such a great site. Please feel free to read this story and wish this story will also inspire you.
First imagine your body as your very own, finely-tuned, musical instrument, then read on…
When Itzhak Perlman, the world-class master violinist, came on stage to give this long-awaited concert at Lincoln Center in New York City, just getting on stage was no small achievement for him…
Itzhak was stricken with polio as a child. He wears massive braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches. And geez, to see him walk across the stage, one step at a time, painfully and slowly, is an unforgettable sight. He walks painfully, yet majestically, until he reaches his chair. Then he sits down, slowly, puts his crutches on the floor, undoes the clasps on his legs, tucks one foot back and extends the other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and proceeds to play.
By now, the audience is used to this ritual. They sit quietly while he makes his way across the stage to his chair. They remain reverently silent while he undoes the clasps on his legs. They wait until he is ready to play…
But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first few bars, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it snap - it went off like gunfire across the room. There was no mistaking what that sound meant. There was no mistaking what he had to do. People who were there that night thought to themselves: “We figured that he would have to get up, put on the clasps again, pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage - to either find another violin or else find another string for this one.”
But he didn’t. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra began, and he played from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before. Of course, anyone knows that it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that. You could see him modulating, changing, recomposing the piece in his head. At one point, it sounded like he was de-tuning the strings to get new sounds from them that they had never made before.
When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium. We were all on our feet, screaming and cheering, doing everything we could to show how much we appreciated what he had done.
He smiled, wiped the sweat from this brow, raised his bow to quiet us, and then he said, not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone, “You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with whatever you have left.”
What a powerful line that is. It has stayed in my mind ever since I heard it. And who knows? Perhaps this is the way of life - not just for artists but for all of us.
So, perhaps in the shaky, fast-changing, bewildering world in which we live, our task is to perform in our own unique way, at first with all that we have, and then, when that is no longer possible, to GIVE OUR ALL with all we have left. This is true for Kimberly and I at least, and I hope you can see your way clear to support us in our quest for new friends with whom we can share music, stories life skills and online tips.
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Thank you in advance,
- Clay
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