A new way to talk

The Daily Haiku for Feb 4. A new way to talk.

You gave me much more,
than a guitar...
                      ... you gave me
a new way to talk.

An old guitar...

When I was 16, my aunt gave me a guitar for my Saint's day. It was a very old guitar that his back-then boyfriend probably didn't need anymore.

However, that present changed my life. I started to play that old instrument and found out music -which had never interested me before- was something that resonated with me on very special levels.

Learning to play a new instrument was something I was pretty good at without much effort. That was something new for me. I soon learned to play the bass, drums, flute, cello, until I ended up discovering the piano, which became my biggest passion. The first time I played a chord on a piano I had an "a-ha!" moment. It was so clear and so "obvious", like something I'd been waiting to do my whole life.

Chance or fate?

I am not stating here that I have an innate gift for composing or comparing myself to such kinds of geniuses. However, it's clear to me that I have a natural connection with music.

So I always wondered what would have happened if my aunt hadn't given me that guitar. Would I have discovered music later, anyway, perhaps due to a different serendipitious event? What would have happened if my parents had taken me to piano classes when I was little? Would I have a formal musical education and play the piano professionally today?

Now that's a very interesting question. Are we naturally drawn to things with which we have an innate connection, or is it all pure chance and we may never find them? That last thought is kind of sad but it might as well be true.

Some people may argue that we don't have any natural connection with anything, it's just that I started playing a lot so I ended up loving it. That perhaps sounds like a rational explanation, but somehow it does not make sense to me. Many chilren are compelled by their parents to learn to play an instrument at an early age and most end up hating it.

What do you think? Are we predestined to discover the stuff we are naturally connected to, or is it a matter of luck and we may never find out?