A Ten Year Old’s Commitment to a Dream (Part One)

On a recent drive I was tuned in to Tempo on CBC radio. The program featured stories from listeners about classical music that really ‘rocked’ their world. One story that stood out for me was about a woman who at the age of 10 watched the movie The Secret Garden and was utterly captivated by the music. She sat in front of the TV with her old tape recorder and recorded the music. Then she took the tape to her piano teacher and told her she wanted to learn to play this music. Fortunately, her teacher could identify the piece and even had the sheet music. It was Chopin’s Nocturne #19.

The teacher initially told this 10 yr old girl that she was not yet ready to learn such a piece and will need to come back to it in a few years. Tenacious about her dream, the student insisted on learning this piece and in her 10 yr old way made it clear she was going to learn it. Her teacher wisely caught her vision and her passion for this music as well as her desire and commitment to learn it. The teacher began to break the piece down into smaller pieces and skills to learn. She said it took her 5 years to learn this elegant piece of music. Five YEARS and a spirit transformed!!

What a powerful story of accomplishment. What I found so powerful about this story is that this child had a vision of something that made her happy, uplifted and powerful. She didn’t know how to get there, but she had the commitment. Without commitment our most important desires and higher life goals will never be accomplished. Important desires and higher life goals are there to summon our courage, to teach us discipline and inner strength of spirit and character. They are designed to teach us humility and gratitude, patience and wisdom, among other virtues.

Without commitment we can accomplish nothing of true meaning, purpose and longevity. How would you rate your own level and practice of commitment?