Intentional Living

Have you ever had something happen in your life that forced you to make decisions you hadn't been thinking of, or helped you move forward in an area where you were stuck, or maybe gave you an opportunity to think about things in a new way? I had one of those experiences on July 1st when my house was burglarized and I am amazed by the incredible mind shift that resulted from the events of that day.

After working through the typical emotions that immediately followed the intrusion and completing all the paperwork for the police and insurance company it was time to make a plan for moving forward. I had read online that a good thing to do is to get rid of the empty spots that were now only serving as reminders of what was lost. One of the areas I needed to tackle was the gaping whole where my flutes had been. One flute was the flute that got me through my high school years and was used for my audition into the music program at the University of Illinois. The other was a handmade, solid silver, professional level model that I had saved up for and bought just as I was heading off to college.

 Now I will admit that I had not played either flute for years but only took them off the shelf every now and again to put them together to feel them in my hands. But when I did take them out I thought about playing again when I retired and had the time to get back to playing. But now the flutes were gone and so was that option.

As I was going through the insurance process I had a realization that this was an opportunity to let go of things that truly were my past and only bring back into my life the things that were part of my current life. Even though many of the items taken were not things I believe I would have gotten rid of, I asked myself if were they items that I wanted to intentionally bring them back into my current life? Surprisingly, the answer often was no and I thought that was what the answer would be with my flutes.

However, as I sat on the edge of my bed looking through the sheet music that I had taken off the shelf I was unable to put it in the donate box. Instead I found myself singing these pieces that had been imprinted in my head, my fingers and my heart and feeling a joy that had been missing when I hadn't been playing. I realized I did not want to be flute-less moving forward and I did not want to wait until retirement to bring it back into my life. Thankfully my insurance coverage is for replacement costs and my insurance company was fine with me purchasing one flute to replace both of my original flutes. 

Knowing now what my budget was, I made an appointment with Rachel at The Flute Gallery at Schmitt Music. I didn't even know there was such a thing as a flute gallery in Minnesota (it's amazing). As timing would have it, I contacted her just as the National Flute Convention was taking place so I had to wait until Rachel and the flutes returned home. I swear the wait between making the appointment and the day of the appointment felt as exciting as knowing that I would soon be going to Disney Land; I was counting down the days! When the morning was finally here I was excited and a bit nervous. Would I even be able to play after such a long break? Flutes have changed so much since the last time I had purchased on so would I even know what to look for? 

Once I arrived Rachel took my into The Flute Gallery where she proceeded to take out flute case after flute case and assembled an array of the most glorious flutes for me to try. She handed me the first flute and I was shocked that I could even make a sound. But it wasn't just a sound. It was a rich, lush sound that took me quite by surprise. I struggled to remember fingerings but was still able to get an idea of how much a fit I was with this flute. Rachel handed me flute after flute but after each one I she had me replay the first one. Each time I played the first one it was undeniable it was the right fit for me. I had been told that you don't chose a flute, but instead, a bit like Harry Potter and his wand, the flute chooses you. I know understand what that means. My head had told me I wanted a certain brand but there was no question which flute responded most naturally to me and it was the Burkart, a company I had previously never heard of.

I was able to take it home for a trial and last weekend bought the head joint of the one I had been using and ordered the body of my flute which should arrive just in time for the holidays. Before I returned the demo flute body I couldn't resist doing a little photo shoot with the flute I fell in love with. I have a flute to play while I am waiting on mine and will be starting lessons next week! The amount of joy I experience every day as I play this flute has set the standard for the amount of joy I need to get out of anything else I choose to bring into my home and my life.  When the question asked is whether my life is better because of it, the answer for the flute is a resounding "yes"!