Sometimes I like to write my newsletter article about an upcoming music event, or plans for music at
CCC, or maybe a call out to join the bell choir etc…but this month’s article is a random bit of advice
and that is to “dust your piano”!
Now, you may be thinking that if you don’t have a piano this advice may not apply to you…but the
piano is really just a placeholder, anything else can be substituted. This may seem like a strange bit
of advice, let me explain…
I have an electronic keyboard in my home that has not been used in quite some time. I walk past it
every day, and sometimes I think about sitting down and playing something just for fun…but there is
always something else that takes precedent (usually related to vacuuming up dog hair which is a
never-ending chore in my home). This evening I decided I would sit down and play something fun,
when I realized how horribly dusty the piano had become, and it wasn’t just the type of dust you can
run a feather duster over and it’s good to go…the dust had become rather sticky and was stuck on
all the keys (even though I keep a piece of fabric laying over the keys they still became very
dusty/dirty).
Seeing all of that dust that had collected on my piano made feel a bit sad. Piano is something that I
truly love and has been a part of my life since I was 5 years old and my parents put me in piano
lessons. I had not really thought of how much time had gone by without me sitting down at my
keyboard and playing something until I saw that dust and realized it had to be quite some time in
order for it to get in such a state. The days go by so quickly, adding up even faster, and before I
knew it I had let something that brings me a lot of happiness begin to fade into the background.
Looking at that piano made me think of Miss Havisham from Great Expectations, so I started to
clean it (which is no easy task when there are so many keys).
After some hard work and serious effort, I’m glad to say that my keyboard is looking brand new and
ready for me to sit down and play at a moment’s notice. This small lesson reminded me the
importance of taking care of the things we love, and taking time to do something that makes you
happy. That’s why “dust your piano” can apply to anything…from activities/hobbies and even to the
relationships in our lives that may need a bit of dusting off. Life gets busy so fast, but I hope we can
all take some time to keep the things that bring us joy in the foreground, rather than collecting dust
in the background.
Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you on Sunday morning!