WEBVTT

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(gentle music)

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- Hi everyone, this is Chaplain Burson

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and today's thought is on the
opportunity of limitations.

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One of the greatest
American jazz musicians

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of the 20th century was Keith Jarrett.

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But one of the things
that made him so great

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was not just his musical skill

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but also his ability to
take a difficult situation

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full of limitations and
find new opportunities.

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On January 24th 1975,

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he prepared to give a concert

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in the Cologne Opera House in Germany

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and one of the unique
qualities of that tour was that

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there were long stretches of
improvisation in each show.

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For this type of performance,

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Jarrett requested a highly specific piano.

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Unfortunately, the Opera
House crew delivered a piano

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that was half the size
of what he asked for,

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that was out of tune,

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the black keys in the
middle didn't even work,

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and the pedals stuck,

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and the higher notes were tinny.

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Even though the concert
was completely sold out,

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it seemed like the show wouldn't go on

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because the piano was deemed unplayable

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and no replacement could be found in time.

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In spite of everything going against him,

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Jarrett decided to
perform that night anyway.

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And those who witnessed it

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consider it a magical work of art.

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The limitations of the piano
forced Jarrett to create

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all new improvisations that
transfixed the audience.

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A recording of that night's concert

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became Jarrett's most famous album

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and the best-selling solo
jazz piano album ever.

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It's considered to be the best
concert that he ever played.

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The American psychoanalyst,
Dr. Karen Hornei

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suggests that whenever we
face difficult situations,

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there are three main ways
that we can respond to them.

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We can move away from
difficulties by leaving,

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we can push against them by condemning,

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attacking, or blaming others,

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or we can move towards those situations

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by accepting them as they are
with all of their limitations.

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And in moving towards them,

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we can actually make the situation better.

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No one would have blamed
Jarrett for leaving

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or getting angry in response to not having

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the proper conditions for him to perform,

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but instead, he moved towards the problem

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and created a masterpiece.

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My hope is that when life
hands us a situation that

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is less than ideal and seems
like an unplayable piano,

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that we move towards it rather

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than running away or getting angry.

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We may find that what develops
is not what we intended

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but something much better
than we ever imagined.

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Blessings this week.

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(gentle music)