Once upon a time, just a few short years ago, I was in a city, in China, called Changzhou. Some Chinese friends were showing us around.
We went to this park. It was a somewhat bleak wintery day, the trees were all quite bare of leaves and the ground was dry from the sharp chilly cold air.
As we wandered through the park, out of seemingly nowhere, I heard the sound of Chinese instruments piercing through the nippy air.
I asked my Chinese companion what was happening. He just smiled at me and said “you’ll see.”
We neared a pavilion and I saw a group of elderly people playing Beijing Opera. I couldn’t move. I stood before the pavilion mesmerised. The sounds of a mans voice singing - stopping, pausing – as is the way with Beijing Opera, consumed my complete attention. His voice was so powerful. The Chinese instruments playing behind him…so beautiful. Nothing else existed except the sounds of music.
An elderly Chinese woman spotted me standing there and walked towards me carrying a white plastic chair. She indicated I should sit. I wanted to sit and watch the musicians. I wanted to indulge in their beautiful offering to the cold wintery air. I was torn because my companions had already moved on and were waiting for me.
I smiled at the woman, nodded my head to try to express my love and appreciation for the beautiful music and her kind offer of somewhere to sit. She smiled at me with the understanding that I had to go to walk with my companions.
Once I caught up with my companions I asked my Chinese friend “why are these people playing music in this park on this very cold day?”
He said there was no real reason, they just love Beijing Opera and gathered in this place most weekends to sing and play. They are simply old friends who get together to enjoy their music. Their love of the music draws them together in their twilight years, to play music on a cold wintery day in a park.
I remain honoured and blessed to have heard them on that day.
Music fills our world. It heals and inspires and fills our memories with divine recollections. It connects us with love.