Chicago, IL
I’ve always been a creative person and I love expressing myself through writing, public speaking, physical movements and reading. I enjoy learning new things to enhance my existing talents and one thing that I’ve always loved is the sound of an acoustic guitar. There is something so hypnotic about the sound of the strings’ vibrations when strummed perfectly. The sound makes my ears happy and I feel a wave of relaxation and calmness move through my body from my head to my toes. I sigh in happiness just thinking about that.
For as long as I can remember I have always wondered what it would be like to have my own guitar to create sounds the way talented musicians do. I have picked up many guitars in half-hearted attempts to see if I was able to play one chord. I remember being in the basement of the Hard Rock Café in London where I picked up a purple guitar (it was an electric guitar), and found myself in the Las Vegas Hard Rock nearly a decade later doing the same thing. In all of that time I took exactly zero steps to learn how to play yet my fascination with acoustic sounds continued to grow.
I became busy with other things like my career and socializing and had not moved towards this thought of playing guitar that I considered to be a really fun idea. I became nationally known in my career, participated in hundreds of hours of community service and provided support for people around me. I prioritized my career and figured, “Eh, I’ll have time for fun later.”
I spent time one summer with several musician friends and they all encouraged me to buy my own guitar. I contacted one of them to help me find the right guitar. “You can pick up a guitar for as low as $60 and as expensive as tens of thousands of dollars,” he told me. “Come on in and we’ll find the perfect guitar for you!”
I went into the shop and found a beautiful guitar that was just right. I'm mainly a righty so I was surprised to find out that I am a lefty guitarist like Jimi Hendrix. I giggled to myself to think about the skillset difference between the two of us.
“Well, I better start practicing so I can catch up to Jimi,” I thought. I was so excited to take my guitar home and start practicing. I wanted to stay encouraged to learn so I started looking at Youtube.com guitar lessons. I found an awesome channel, subscribed and planned out what I would do once I had my beautiful new guitar in hand.
Well, it took almost two months for my guitar to arrive. That was disappointing but I let go of disappointment and moved back to excitement. It was finally time to do something for myself that will be fun, meditative and challenging.
But then something horrible happened. I was diagnosed with a very serious life-threatening illness that required two years of intense treatment. Initially I figured it would not impact my new goal of learning how to play guitar but a side effect of my treatment was sensitivity and pain in my fingers. This side effect began as just tingly sensations from time-to-time and advanced to my fingernails lifting off of the nail beds (yes, it was painful!). I literally could not press the strings on my guitar. I was devastated. My doctor told me that this side effect would pass but she couldn’t tell me how long it would take. I was upset because I finally made time to learn how to play and now, at no fault of my own that opportunity was ripped away from me.
I committed to myself not to give up. I purchased a hard case and kept my guitar in site so that I could see it every day. Every now and then I opened the case and just looked at it. Oh, it’s gorgeous and I can’t wait to be able to take lessons! Sometimes I even picked it up and tried to strum just a little. This might seem like a silly little thing to some, but it was a really big deal to me.
Fast forward to two years later. My fingers have fully recovered and I can press down on my strings without any pain. I watched the Youtube.com channel that I subscribed to and have learned how to play my first chord (an A chord). I randomly heard about a guitar teacher who provided lessons nearby and I have finally booked my first lesson. I am thrilled to take time for myself and to learn this new hobby. Because if not now, then when?
It’s not just about the guitar. It is a commitment to myself to take the time to enjoy life, learn something new and move past roadblocks. Life is filled with unexpected circumstances that change our plans and force us to put things on hold. I was not going to let my illness be another excuse to push aside something I have wanted to learn for a long time. I accepted the facts of the situation and took time each week to watch online lessons even though I could not physically attempt to play.
I kept my mind focused on two outcomes:
1. Becoming physically well.
2. Recalling the wave of relaxation and calmness that moves through my body from my head to my toes when I hear acoustic sounds.
It is now my turn to create those amazing sounds and take pride in making the commitment to myself to take action on this daydream of mine!