The Master’s hand

A story… some sites claim that its fiction… I prefer to believe that it actually happened, if not with Paderewski, then some other great pianist :)…
Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE.”
When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing.
Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy was sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy’s ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”

Then, leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was so mesmerized they couldn’t recall what else the great master played. Only the classic “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.”
That’s the way it is with Guruji… and God what we can accomplish on our own may not be noteworthy. We do our best, but the results may not be exactly graceful flowing music. But with the hand of the Master, our life’s work can be transformed from the merely mundane to the truly beautiful.
Next time you set out to accomplish something big, and things are not working exactly the way you wanted them to, listen carefully. You will hear a voice whispering in your ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”
I emphasize the word “play”!