In this interview, Harp Lessons With Shoshanna Harrari, which I have posted on
YouTube:
I visited Shoshanna and Micah Harrari at House of Harrari, where Micah makes beautiful carved harps and Shoshanna plays them skilfully. Shoshanna talked about how we each have our own song to play or sing, and that our life’s experiences are the forge upon which those songs are played out.
Similarly, Batya Burd writes, “Each one of us has a unique song that lies deep in our soul. It is the most pure type of music that stems from who we truly are, in all of our splendor and beauty, the one that reveals us completely, imperfections and all.” She continues, “When we have a difficult challenge in life and experience some suffering, some of us view it as an interruption to life, a blip. But those troubles aren’t distractions – they’re precisely what create us.
The pains and the uncomfortable parts of our story help craft our unique personality and character. The moments of distress create the peaks, dips, and special viewpoints we have; they create the flats, the sharps and the octaves of our song. Every experience of anguish is a note that we weave together to make a song that no one else can sing. And when we sing that song back to God through prayer, just as King David did, we fulfil the spiritual purpose for the suffering we were given.”
A final thought from Ms. Burd I would like share is this: “Suffering, pain, and turmoil are not intermission times in our lives; they create our intricacies, depletions, accents, and twists for a reason. When we are honest with our pain and shortfalls, and allow ourselves to laugh or cry or scream as a vehicle to come closer to our Creator, that’s part of our chorus.
That’s part of our song which no one can sing but us. We can transform the darkness into sparks of light. When we turn pain into a vehicle for connection with the Almighty, we invest meaning into the suffering and make it holy. God doesn’t do that; that choice is in our domain. King David became King David not despite his difficult life, but because of it.”
As we are experiencing this most unusual time in our nation’s history with lockdowns and isolation, I believe it is important for us to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Let’s ask ourselves, “Is there something I can learn through this experience that will make me a better person? Is there a lesson learned here that will make me better equipped for what I may face down the road of my life? What is really important in life? In the middle of all these negative circumstances, can I develop a character that will help find the solutions rather than contribute to the problems?”
I want to challenge myself to not just complain about what it happening to my country and community. Rather, I want to be one of those who work toward solving the problems that regularly face us. It may be harder to find solutions than just complain, but it is much more satisfying.
And so, my challenge to you as you brave these troublesome times is to carefully look at the possibilities of what you may learn through these experiences and realize that the answer is in your unique song!