Playing all the Keys

"You can play a tune of sorts on the white keys, and you can play a tune of sorts on the black keys, but for harmony you must use both the black and the white."

~ James E. K. Aggrey, Ghana (when it was known as Gold Coast)

This name came up in the back of a children's book I had picked up in Ghana.  The book, "Fly, Eagle, Fly!" was based on a parable he told, retold by the author Christopher Gregorowski.  On the surface, it is a story about an eagle, raised by humans, who thinks he is a chicken.  He acts like a chicken and refuses to fly.  The note from the author reveals something deeper.  "My people of Africa," he quotes Aggrey, "we were created in the image of God, but men have made us think we are chickens, and we still think we are; but we are eagles.  Don't be content with the food of chickens! Stretch forth your wings and fly!"

It makes me wonder how often our chicken thinking contents us with the food of just white keys or just black keys.  Or for that matter, just one note or octave.  Or perhaps, even, just one instrument.  I would like to believe the human race is capable of full scale symphonies.  We are capable of concertos and jazz and death metal.  How often have we held ourselves back due to a lack of imagination and a fear of discord?

It is true that if we only ever play one note by ourselves, we are less likely to make a mistake and more likely to meet our expectations.  We might make a sound, and might find that sound pleasing, but we may never really play music.  When people ask me what it's like interacting with other cultures, I tell them it's messy, and should be messy.  You will make mistakes.  The more mistakes you have made, the greater the repertoire of experiences you can draw on when you encounter new people or situations.

When someone who is different from yourself makes you angry or frustrated, be glad you are hearing something new.  Be glad for the opportunity to apply your experiences and skills to try and arrange a new harmony out of the discord.  You may even discover a synergy you could not have imagined before.