Saturday, September 17, 2011

exploring new territory

the didge
The first time I saw someone play the didgeridoo I was mesmerized by the ability to keep the sound going through the process of circular breathing.  It seemed like a magical experience to breathe in and breathe out at the same time.
It was one of those skills that seemed 'impossible' for me to ever learn but amazing to admire in someone else.
I must admit when my friend Boris told me to begin to learn circular breathing and that I could actually acquire this skill - I just laughed.  I had the feeling of 'why try?'.  It is impossible and I could never do it - so why even begin?
One day I realized the limitation I had set on my own possibilities.  Why did I think that I can't learn this?  Why did I deem it impossible?  If other human beings could learn this skill - would it not be possible that I could as well?
Once I opened my mind to the possibility of trying and exploring, I became a learner.  I read about circular breathing, watched videos about circular breathing and started exploring how to do it myself.
There was a lot of spitting involved.  It wasn't pretty!
Boris lent me a 'practice didge'...a pipe from Rona!  My dog freaked out when she first heard the noise.  I took it in the car and went and practiced where no animal or human could see or hear me.
It was terrible and sounded like a sick pig!
But.....once I got the idea in my head that I could learn, I became determined to keep trying.
I gave myself til Christmas and most days tried to work on it.
The sound became a read didge sound.
But the circular breathing was challenging.
And then 2 days ago - it happened.  it worked.
It all came together and I did it - the sound, the breathing - it sounded good and was continuous.
I played the didge!
I may never play this thing in public - I may take a few months to be able to be consistent in the circular breathing department - but the wonder of learning something new and pushing myself beyond what I thought was possible is life-giving.
It makes me wonder - what else is possible for me to learn?
Where do I set limits on myself that are self-imposed and not true reflections of reality?
How can I think 'possibility' instead of 'not me'?
What am I capable of learning and becoming and being as I journey into the 40's of my life?
I think I know what I would like for Christmas - a real didge from Australia -
a step up from my beautiful black Rona pipe!

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