Do you make use of the opportunities that constantly present themselves? If not, why not? Recently, while returning home from a mediabistro cocktail party in downtown Toronto, I noticed a very colourful piano at the corner of Bay and Dundas Street. A young man was playing and someone in the audience was singing. Written across the piano – Play Me, I’m Yours. Another day at that same location, two unrelated children were playing the piano, while waiting with their parents for the streetcar.
If you were walking down the street, and there was no one around, and you saw the piano, would you play it if you could? Would you seize the moment, make use of the opportunity and play? Or would you over-think the situation? I’d like to think that at this stage in my life, if I could play the piano, I would have.
Play Me, I’m Yours is a metaphor for any opportunity that presents itself in life. Opportunities present themselves all the time, but oftentimes we are too tightly wound up to recognize them. If we opened up ourselves to more possibilities in life, where would that lead us?
I have allowed many opportunities to slip through my fingers because I didn’t want to expose myself, I didn’t want to be laughed at for looking foolish.
I went to an event and they were asking for volunteers to play the drums to create the ambience, and I refused to join in because I had never played the drum before. Others were having the time of their lives, and I was sitting on the sidelines. A year later, another opportunity presented itself to play drums, and I reluctantly tried it, and it was okay. No one laughed at me because they were in exactly the same position as myself. Shortly after that, I was at a Drum Cafe event, and there was no reluctance on my part to play the drums – all participants were acting silly and it was very therapeutic for us.
There will be many moments in our lives when we are asked to ‘play the drums,’ will you rise to the occasion, or will you let the opportunity slip through your fingers?
Play Me, I’m Yours is an international art project touring since 2008. There are 41 pianos installed across Toronto. One of the 41 pianos represents one of the 41 countries that will be competing in the 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games which will be held in Toronto.
Many opportunities are telling you, “play me, I’m yours,” but you are too busy to hear the message. Slow down so that you can recognize the many opportunities around you so that you can say, “Yes, I’ll Play You Because You’re Mine.”
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Hi David,
Sometimes it takes just one profound moment!