Friday's Favorites - Life's Passion

Today marked the beginning of the "how the heck did I get this old and boring?" part of my life.

I went to the state PTA Convention.

All day.

Blech.

There were a couple of bright spots, but I have to admit after spending the entire morning inside, listening to speakers and perusing materials, my body started twitching and I experienced temporary ADD.

So, the plan was to eat our cute little box lunch, then chat, peruse, and sit inside for 45 minutes until the next round of classes began.

Blech.

So I made my own plan. Since it was a beautiful day, and I happened to be on the campus of my Alma Mater, BYU, I decided to take a walk. I set out on my own little adventure. It felt soo good to be outside, soo good to move, and soo good to be someplace familiar. I felt unusually carefree.

And then something unexpected happened.

I passed the music building.


My heart started to race.


My fingers tingled and flexed.


My eyes darted toward the entrance.

But I resisted the thoughts and I made my way around the library, convincing myself that there was absolutely no reason for me to be in that building.

I passed the building a second time. Why could I not take my eyes off it? And then, before I was even aware, the building drew me in. I became keenly aware of myself walking, feeling purpose in each motion, feeling life in each breath. I took in the familiar sights and sounds of the atrium as I let my legs take me wherever they wanted to go.

And I was a little surprised.

I ended up in a tiny practice room. One of the very same ones in which I had spend hundreds of hours playing the piano for my music studies. I remembered this particular piano, a cherry colored Kawai grand with a resonant, but dull-ish sound. Still wearing my PTA badge, I sat down.

And I played.

I made my way roughly through a Gershwin prelude. Why were my hands shaking?

Then I settled more easily into one of my favorite pieces, "Mouvement" by Debussy.

I knew I only had a few minutes of bliss until I had to get back into the real world. I savored the feeling of alive-ness, of embracing something that you know belongs to you. Something you know is such a part of you that it can only be called your passion.

My time was up. I stood up, and readjusted my badge in the mirror. Picking up the purple PTA bag, I left my vibrant little world of music and headed back to the real world.

But I took something with me as I left. No, I think I awakened something within me. Something that had spent too much time buried underneath housecleaning, scheduling, and care-taking. So much time that I had forgotten it was there.

And I remembered what it really feels like to be alive.