Wednesday, September 28, 2011

A Riddle For You: You wiggle your toes, and crinckle your nose with delight. What is this stirring in your tummy, what names this funny, tonight?

Did you know that each and every one of us possess our very own unique instrument? An instrument that doesn't even begin to compare to any other instrument belonging to another. An instrument that resembles nothing but thine own self. You may already know the instrument I speak of, the answer to the riddle. The wondrous, infectious roar of laughter.

It really is amazing how if I asked you to remember the first time you laughed, you wouldn't remember. We've been using and enjoying this special instrument since infancy. Since before speech, before walking and even before crawling! We haven't needed to invest a lot of money to buy it, we haven't had to devote endless hours of practice trying to develop it, we haven't had to force learning something that may be quit boring in order to perfect it. No, this instrument was already created in us perfectly.

One of the qualities I most enjoy about laughter is that you haven't much control of it. It bursts forth out of no where! And for us creative types, that can be the most rewarding part of writing music. When an urge so powerful within you, can no longer be contained. It has to explode out of you without much thought or preparation. A sort of outlet for the emotion you're experiencing. Just as laughter is an expression of true joy and happiness.

Laughter is such a mystery. Almost like a cat purring. No one seems to be able to explain it. No one really knows where it comes from. But we can understand to a certain extent what causes it. Happiness and contentment. Laughter resembles an instrument in so many ways. The different tones it can posses, the range of volume and depth (pp, p, mp, mf, f, ff etc..), and even the different time signatures it finds itself in. There's even different emotions involved with laughter just as there are in symphonies. We giggle when nervousness, we laugh with glee, and we wail hysterically, even to the point of passing out from not breathing (better described as quarter rests), when discovering something new for the first time, or sharing in something old. Passed memories, inside jokes, old pictures... :)

And what makes this instrument even more special is it's ability to be contagious. No other instrument holds that quality. No matter what it sounds like, people love to join in on the orchestration. And add their own unique part to it. Some may sound like a beautiful flute, some may sound like a horn or bassoon, some may even screech like a violin being played by a child. But when in unison it's more full and heartwarming than most pleasures in life.

I remember when others began to discover my laugh. Not the most pleasing to some ears. People would actually call me Ed. The laughing hyena from The Lion King. Did I allow them to make me believe my laugh was out of tune? Of coarse not! I knew I wasn't tone deaf. My laugh just happened to billow out of my heart. The tears streaming from my eyes. The sincerity was undeniable. I laughed a lot, and I laughed hard, no matter what people thought of my symphony. And I still do to this day. Have you played your instrument lately?

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