A Lesson from Louie

"Musicians don't retire; they stop when there's no more music in them."
Louis Armstrong, 1901-1971, American Jazz Musician

We usually hear the word "retire" and associate it with the day a person stops working at a job or career. The connotation is of the daily grind coming to a halt. Louie Armstrong's quote triggers an entirely different image, an image that reminds me of another great quote made by motivational speaker, Les Brown: "Live full. Die empty."

I like to believe each us is born with our unique "music" inside of us. We are the composers of our lives who assign purpose and meaning to our experiences, our "notes." The way we express ourselves is sometimes in a creative fashion; but often, it is more simply in how we move through the moments...the gift of ourselves we share with others, how we enjoy what we have and who we are, and even how we love.

For various reasons, some never experience or share more than a note or two. Perhaps they fear rejection, believe others won't enjoy or appreciate their particular tune or song. It's a large planet we live on, a planet with as many preferences as there are people. Sometimes, it's just a matter of finding the place where your music is welcomed and even embraced.

Your song in one moment, may be to smile at another human being or make what seems to you, a small gesture of kindness. For all you know, your few "notes" may sound like a symphony in the heart of someone who feels momentarily emptied of their own melody.

Many people believe that in order for a gesture or a creation to have value, it has to be grand. This simply isn't true. If you come across a patch of vividly-colored wild flowers, is it less spectacular because they aren't roses? Is the scent of honeysuckle less enticing than gardenias in bloom? No plant or animal ever loses its music, because it doesn't fall into the self-made human trap of assessing its worth based on what others think. Whether a squawk or a trill, no bird holds back. No flower fails to bloom. Only humans, believed to be the most intelligent life forms on the planet, choose to deny or repress what they came here to offer to others. Many of us "retire" before we even get started or when we meet bumps or obstacles along the way.

What is your song, your music? What is it that when you do it, when you experience it, makes you want to sing like a bird greeting the dawn? That is your music. Don't judge it. Don't wonder if certain people will appreciate it. Search until you find the place where your particular melody can be played. Somewhere, someone is waiting for you to show up. Let your music flow through you. As Wayne Dyer said, "Don't die with your music still in you." Don't retire from living (and loving) until the last note leaves you.

See the sun rising just over there? Warble, trill, crow. Open your heart and let your music out.