The Lesson

Chuck out all the anatomy text books, all of them! I can assure you that the section on the human brain is completely wrong.

The brain is actually divided into 4 sections, not 2. And each section controls a limb…..2 legs and 2 arms.

How do I know this? Because I think I might be failing dismally with my drumming lessons. Yikes: each limb has to do something completely different at the same time as each other – but even worse: each limb has to keep to its very own rhythm and beat and bring everything together to make a fabulous sound. Good grief.

My teacher is patient and I think now understands the words: lets take it slowly, very slowly.

I have had to throw out all my wild drumming experience gained on the steering wheel of my car and go right back to basics. My self image of drumming up a storm on the stage is fading and I have replaced it with the image of me tapping out “mama”, “dada” in perfect little beats; tiny baby steps of learning something new.

And this is the lesson: I have to keep reminding myself of the beginners mind. In Tai Chi we talk about entering each class, each and every time with an empty cup. We do this so that we are receptive to learning – not only of new things but also to improve and perfect what we already know. Each time we go into a class we fill the cup with new learning. This is called the beginners mind.