Recently I was talking to some friends whose teenage daughter had been taking piano lessons for a number of years and even though I knew that she was learning to play the piano, I had never actually heard her play until recently. So I was telling her mum about the circumstances that allowed me to hear her play and I commented that her daughter plays beautifully. She thanked me for my comment and then added that playing the piano is her happy place.
As soon as that comment was made, I immediately understood – because playing the piano is my happy place too. For me, and others like me, playing the piano goes beyond mere fun. It is an activity that is calming and soothing while being exhilarating and fun. Playing the piano can make the rest of the world go mute for a period of time and all there is left is this beautiful piano music. It is a hobby, an escape and a wild ride all in the one activity. In some ways it is like a good book that draws you in to another world and it hold your attention so much, that the real world just fades into the background for a while.
If you can relate to this, then you should be playing the piano regularly or learning to play the piano because clearly playing the piano is a happy place for you too. It doesn’t matter how many false starts you’ve had or how many times you have told yourself that you are going to get started and then obstacles have gotten in the way. It doesn’t matter if you have limited skill or struggle to read music. It doesn’t even matter if you end up playing particularly well or not . All that matters is that you enjoy what you are playing, despite some setbacks and frustrations.
If playing the piano is your happy place, then you owe it to yourself to make sure that you make time to play the piano. It doesn’t matter if no-one else understands or even likes the way you play. Even though I dislike using the word should, I’m going to use it here – you should play the piano and you should stop wondering whether you’ll ever be good enough.
Don’t deny yourself of your happy place.