This year my oldest daughter is in 6th grade and if you have had a sixth grader before you know students in sixth grade have the opportunity to experiment with band or orchestra.
We talked it through with my daughter and she thought the violin would be a fun instrument. For the first two weeks of school, they learned about the instrument and plucked at the strings. This week she came home and with some excitement shared she got to try out the bow for the first time on the violin. She laughed saying that she’s learned how to squeak on the violin but eventually she will be able to make music.
It was a simple conversation, but the idea hit me.
Squeaks come before the music
None of us, when learning something new or trying to grow into a new space can immediately produce “beautiful music” we all need to squeak a little bit. We need to fail, experiment, and try again. Soon there will be fewer squeaks and more music and before we know it we are competent and producing music.
What are you exploring right now that is new? Are you “squeaking”? I hope you are, and I encourage you to stick with it. It is only after the squeaks that you can produce something beautiful.
