"I think Facebook wants me to buy a ukulele," were the first words I ever heard my husband Aaron say about learning to play the ukulele.
At age 39 years old, he had lived with an incorrect belief for most of his life that he wasn't 'good enough' to be a musician. After a failed attempt at taking guitar lessons as a child, he, like many adults, believed that it was 'too late' to pick up a new skill.
A few years prior, I began my own journey of self-discovery after a nearly fatal incident while driving up and over a mountain pass in the winter. I was a railroad police officer at the time, and I decided that I needed to move past all of the fears that had held me back for most of my life. I started being open to the possibilities - without needing to know how it would all unfold.
As I began to change my life, Aaron started to apply the same principals to his life as well - he began a meditation practice and began focusing on what he wanted in his life. As an individual who had previously lived with the story of, "I don't have any passions or hobbies,", he opened his mind to a simple question: "What is possible for me?"
The answer came, very surprisingly, in the form of that Facebook ad suggesting a ukulele over and over again. A few weeks later, we went to a violin shop, and the violin maker's wife randomly showed us a ukulele. Sensing that these might be important 'clues', I decided to buy Aaron a ukulele for Christmas. At the time I thought, "Well, if he hates it, it can become a decoration."
Nearly two years later, we now own 6 ukuleles. As the violinist for The Musical Mountaineers (www.youtube.com/themusicalmountaineers), I'm accustomed to carrying my violin in a backpack, and so we wanted to find a ukulele that would be well-suited for backcountry music. We were thrilled to discover the carbon fiber KLOS ukulele - perfect for all of the weather that the PNW has to offer.
On a recent snow camping trip, we decided to carry our instruments with us to a remote, off-trail location high in the Cascades. I stuffed my violin and a gown into my backpack, and Aaron tucked away his carbon fiber ukulele into the back of his pack. Just before sunset, we perched ourselves on a cliff to send a simple offering into the world. Music and nature are the two languages that speak powerfully to every person on this planet. When we bring our music into nature, we open a door not only into the melody, but into the stillness that exists in the space around the notes. Music, as much as it is a song or a tune, is also a reminder of the deeper truth that lives in each of us - the connectedness that we share with every being on this planet.
Over the past two years, it has been the greatest joy for Aaron and I to be able to share music together. It is never too late to start something new, and music is for all of us. Every single musician starts with simply learning one note, but sometimes it is that first note that is the hardest to learn - because we truly must be willing to step past all of our stories and beliefs in order to arrive at that place.
As we continue to create music together, we are looking forward to more time spent together and more memories created. We feel so grateful to be able to combine our love of the wilderness and our music together. For us, it is the ultimate expression of love and joy for our place on this incredible planet.
At age 39 years old, he had lived with an incorrect belief for most of his life that he wasn't 'good enough' to be a musician. After a failed attempt at taking guitar lessons as a child, he, like many adults, believed that it was 'too late' to pick up a new skill.
A few years prior, I began my own journey of self-discovery after a nearly fatal incident while driving up and over a mountain pass in the winter. I was a railroad police officer at the time, and I decided that I needed to move past all of the fears that had held me back for most of my life. I started being open to the possibilities - without needing to know how it would all unfold.
As I began to change my life, Aaron started to apply the same principals to his life as well - he began a meditation practice and began focusing on what he wanted in his life. As an individual who had previously lived with the story of, "I don't have any passions or hobbies,", he opened his mind to a simple question: "What is possible for me?"
The answer came, very surprisingly, in the form of that Facebook ad suggesting a ukulele over and over again. A few weeks later, we went to a violin shop, and the violin maker's wife randomly showed us a ukulele. Sensing that these might be important 'clues', I decided to buy Aaron a ukulele for Christmas. At the time I thought, "Well, if he hates it, it can become a decoration."
Nearly two years later, we now own 6 ukuleles. As the violinist for The Musical Mountaineers (www.youtube.com/themusicalmountaineers), I'm accustomed to carrying my violin in a backpack, and so we wanted to find a ukulele that would be well-suited for backcountry music. We were thrilled to discover the carbon fiber KLOS ukulele - perfect for all of the weather that the PNW has to offer.
On a recent snow camping trip, we decided to carry our instruments with us to a remote, off-trail location high in the Cascades. I stuffed my violin and a gown into my backpack, and Aaron tucked away his carbon fiber ukulele into the back of his pack. Just before sunset, we perched ourselves on a cliff to send a simple offering into the world. Music and nature are the two languages that speak powerfully to every person on this planet. When we bring our music into nature, we open a door not only into the melody, but into the stillness that exists in the space around the notes. Music, as much as it is a song or a tune, is also a reminder of the deeper truth that lives in each of us - the connectedness that we share with every being on this planet.
Over the past two years, it has been the greatest joy for Aaron and I to be able to share music together. It is never too late to start something new, and music is for all of us. Every single musician starts with simply learning one note, but sometimes it is that first note that is the hardest to learn - because we truly must be willing to step past all of our stories and beliefs in order to arrive at that place.
As we continue to create music together, we are looking forward to more time spent together and more memories created. We feel so grateful to be able to combine our love of the wilderness and our music together. For us, it is the ultimate expression of love and joy for our place on this incredible planet.
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