Pianos along the way…
Of course there were pianos along the way. At times I felt a strong need to play and would seek them out, sometimes delaying my departure from a village if I found one.
I learnt a further lesson about manifestation during these weeks. It is crucial that one is as precise as possible in articulating the wish/intention.
I had said to myself ‘I want to find a piano’ and there were three responses to my wish.
On the first occasion, stepping into a village hall, I saw the piano across at the side. Delighted, I approached it and opened the lid. Empty! Devoid of its innards. No mechanism. No keys. No strings. It had been gutted. Simply a wooden shell.
A day or two later, arriving at the gite where I had arranged to stay for the night, I found a piano in the dining room. But on inspection, although it had most of its yellowed keys – it was silent. Not a single sound emanated from under my fingers.
What to say ! But I still hadn’t got the message. I had asked for a piano… and two pianos had in fact appeared but the third example took the cake.
It was in a bistro, a quirky little place with plenty of clutter and the owners’ souvenirs placed everywhere.
There was indeed a piano, but it hung from the ceiling
upside down.
Its keyboard out of reach !
I finally got it. So, the intention was rephrased.
‘I want to find a piano that I can play’.
I found a beautiful concert grand piano in the Cathedral at Moissac.
I spent some reflective time in the immense cathedral, light filtering through its many windows. A beautiful luminous space with a lovely energy. Very comfortable sitting on one of the worn benches, watching a white-robed Franciscan monk readying things for the service to be held later for the pelerins who would be moving on the next morning. I had decided I would stay on.
I approached the monk with his kindly face and voiced my request to play the beautiful piano. Would it be possible? I told him I was from South Africa. He was gentle and seemed wise. He nodded and said he would have the key later.
Later turned out to be quite a bit later when the cathedral was filled with pilgrims – all waiting expectantly for the blessing on the next stage of their journeys. I waited too, hoping for the key to the piano, for later.
We were almost at the end of the service just prior to the final blessing when his words reached me. ‘Marilyn, from South Africa, will allow music to bless your path’. Something like that.
I walked up to the longest piano I have ever encountered, and my fingers hovered over the perfect keys. The first notes of Au Revoir sounded their beautiful harmonics, circling up into that magnificent resonant chamber. It was exquisite as I felt the vibrations from the piano through my fingers into my whole body.
As the final note hung in the air around us, a deep peace settled in the cathedral, in me and I sensed in the assembled pilgrims, each dealing with the issues which had got them to step out on this path in the first place. This Franciscan monk had trusted that the music would be appropriate for the ceremony. I could have hugged him.
Before I left Moissac the following morning, I went to the cathedral and to my delight found that the piano was still unlocked. I took the opportunity to play, oblivious of the early morning visitors, and the music flowed and echoed and filled the huge stone sanctuary.
Then after a good breakfast cafe et croissants I left Moissac feeling rested and deeply nourished on all levels.