Monthly Archives: March 2012

I had the occasion recently to talk with a friend.  Yes, I do have friends and, NO, you are not entitled to know their names.  Be that as it may, my friend asked if we could talk.  

Nothing odd there.  Friends talk….talking is how we let someone know when we’re hungry, thirsty, happy, ticked off, and any other need that we would like fulfilled.  Talking is a great tool and a wonderful way to communicate.  But I stray from my point.

I met my friend for coffee (did I mention I LOVE coffee?), and could tell immediately that there was something amiss.  I sat down and said, “Hi”, at which point the floodgates opened and the torrent came gushing forth.  I started constructing an Ark, as a precaution, as the story unfolded.  My friend, you see, had reached the point of frustration about the purpose of life.  The frustration was such that I feared my friend might suddenly dash away to terrorize the countryside, burn, cause a bit of chaos and mayhem, and perhaps the odd looting, but generally just thrashing about the place venting frustration.

During one of the pauses for breath, I took the opportunity to pose, what I thought was a perfectly legitimate question: “Do you think penguins would enjoy chocolate covered pickled herring as a birthday treat?” 

My friend’s astonished, blank stare gave me the moment needed to have a mental pokeabout to see if there was any wisdom to be found in the synapses….when it struck me.  Or more precisely, I heard my answer!  The shop was playing some rather festive and catchy Mozart piece.

After my friend had managed to compose a rather rude retort to my inquiry, i.e. “That’s Absurd you absolute moron!,”

"That's Absurd!"

I shared my epiphany without being soundly pummeled.  I told my friend to listen to the muzak.  It was at this point that I realized that my friend had the musical ear of a deaf rhinoceros, and would require further explanation.  Thus, I continued:

If you were to put life on paper as music, you make a startling, yet plain, discovery.  Music, like life, can only happen to each part one note at a time.  It is impossible, and I asked about this, for a musician to play every single note at the same time.  It can’t be done!  Life happens to us one breath at a time.  

AND, I continued unabated, if you look at the musical score, you will notice that there are lots of parts but not all are playing the melody.  Some are playing harmony.  So must we consider that at times, our lives may be playing the part of harmony instead of lead melody.

We ALL have a part to play

My friend blinked purposefully as this nugget of brilliance sank into the synapses.  And I received a nod of understanding, or agreement, or boredom, I’m uncertain which, but the issue brought to the table seemed to have been resolved with the musical score example.

And, by the way, the zoo would strongly urge that penguins NOT be fed chocolate covered pickled herring at any time.