Hands of God and Chopin

Sometimes a snippet of synchronicity is all you need for salvation.

With time on my hands, I decided to use them in a labor of love. There are pieces of great literature written for the piano that I have never learned to perform to my satisfaction. One of these towering infernos of virtuosity is Frederic Chopin's Fantasie -Impromptu in c# minor. It is a bear of a work which begins with arpeggiated triplets in the left hand dueling for space in time with a quartet of 16th notes in the right hand. So your left hand is tapping three as your right hand plays 4. Now, if you think this is easy, think again especially when Chopin's accelerator pedal is to the metal.

For days, like Schrodingers Cat observing the double slit experiment, I have been waiting for the Zen of the piece to take over. That magical moment when, after the agony of left brain sweat and tears, the right brain victoriously plays the piece and your are, momentarily,Godlike,Queen of the Universe. I marvel at the state of grace Chopin must have lived in when he wrote this. A welcome respite from the agony he inflicted upon himself while in exile from his beloved Poland. Maybe he couldn't own it's beauty. He never published it during his short lifetime.

Once the performer has quelled the savage beast of the first two pages Chopin throws her a bone. The minor key is exchanged for a mystical, romantic fantasy. A melody borrowed many times to snare a theatrical audience towards the catharsis of love viewed and once morphed by Harry Carroll into a pop song of the 40's with the lyrics "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows". It is satisfyingly playable on the first try.

I abandon the piano to load the 100 lbs of clothing I have made myself part with into the car for a farewell trip up the hill to St. Louis de Montfort Catholic Church where they will find new homes via St. Vincent de Paul. During the ascent the sky begins to lighten and far to the west a patch of sun is doing the double slit dance, particle and wave begging for me to observe. Catlike, I turn my neck to the east and there it is, in all of God's glory-- my rainbow.

A little synchronicity and the observer is transformed.