If you’re reading these words right now, then you have a talent the world needs to experience and be inspired by. Do you know that talent and/or gift I’m speaking of that waits within you? Trust me, it’s there!

Don’t Be Scared of Sacrifice

Looking at Norman Rockwell’s illustration of this young trumpeter, he appears to be dressed more for an outdoor adventure with his puppy-pal, than for a symphony. Nevertheless, at least for now, he is sacrificing that adventure for a greater cause. He knows there is a price to pay for the privilege to play. This kind of success takes more than just skill and a commitment to the cause; it takes real sacrifice. While we can’t hear how well he’s playing the notes (his hound’s face gives us a hint), I’m sure there are a few mistakes that sneak into the measures. Even with his half hearted posture and the occasional mistakes, the dedication and concentration on his face would rival that of any Armstrong or Davis.

Toot Your Own Horn

When we’re tooting our own horn, making mistakes will be part of the process. Though, it can certainly be discouraging to one’s dedication when the snare of giving up ambushes you on those difficult days when it seems all you’re making are mistakes and you’re not getting any better, or better fast enough. Those are the days when you can’t give up! It doesn’t mean you can’t quit if it’s really not right for your life, but don’t give up just because you have to keep getting back up.

The Clarinet Crucible

I remember when I was learning to play the clarinet; it took a lot of work. Some talents are easier to learn. This was not one of those. It’s one thing to learn the notes, but quite another to practice so you can play them and do so correctly. Because when you make a mistake, the clarinet’s signature high-pitch squeal or honk leaves the ears of listeners with no doubt that you need more practice. I am grateful to those patient listeners who supported my practicing and performing! While I haven’t played (or honked) in a while, I’m grateful I didn’t give up. Learning to play the clarinet (any musical instrument) helped me learn patience and persistence which has helped me improve other talents since then. It also took me on great adventures and brought many good friends into my life!

From our musical instruments to our means of transportation, a good tune-up helps make things better for our audiences and our passengers. It’s no different when it comes to our everyday lives. I’m sure you’ve certainly had years that seemed flat and out of tune. I’m sure you’ve experienced maring and jaring moments when life seemed more like nails on a chalkboard than sweeping symphonies…including more maladies than melodies.

As a side note, pianos go out of tune often as their strings become too loose or too tight. This is mostly affected by humidity and altitude. Regardless, even an untrained ear can hear the sour notes of an out-of-tune piano (instrument). While playing that piano is still possible and painful (it will hurt the ears mostly), living an out-of-tune life can do much more damage. In such cases, there’s nothing wrong with getting a tune-up from friends, family or professionals. If they aren’t available at the moment, perhaps we can take a few helpful notes from Norman Rockwell’s “The Piano Tuner” to assist each of us with a personal tune-up.

First, even with his pocketful of gadgets and gizmos and a box of tools at his disposal, if the Tuner is not listening properly, how will he know what tool to use? Also, he can’t discover where the tuning is needed by simply staring at the piano. As such, he is making a conscious choice (action) to play a chord and then just listening. He is not distracted by other sounds or experiences. He is creating an environment to help him be able to better tune in to what’s out of tune. The young boy beside him is also being quiet—no apparent questions or qualms—just watching, curious and trusting the Tuner and hopefully learning something for the future.

Now, if the Piano Tuner never played a single note, or tried to listen to the piano while the T.V. or other music (noises), was playing in the background, he wouldn’t be able to hear what he needed to hear. He wouldn’t know where the problem was let alone which tool would be needed to fix it. Using what are called “Mutes” the Tuner can also isolate individual strings and then using a “Tuning Fork” (actual or digital) he can determine the best way to get that string back into harmony with the rest. Sounds like a lot of work, right? It takes time and effort, but with practice you’ll become more efficient and proficient.

Here’s some tuning tools to help you get started:

ACTION (play a note).

LISTEN (does it sound, feel right?)

ENVIRONMENT (create a healthy environment to help you recognize when something is out of tune and to help you stay in tune).

TOOLS (Patience, Perspective, Peace, Proper Pace, Prayer, Presence, Purpose, a Partner).

TEST (play additional notes, verify and readjust where necessary).

A Spoonful of Sugar

In Rockwell’s illustration, “Take Your Medicine” or “Medicine Giver” the grimacing child is about to be given a dose of magical elixir that he already knows will taste worse than he feels. I’m sure we can each remember that moment of dread right before a nasty spoonful of cough syrup or other medicine was dutifully and lovingly administered, often by our dear mothers and grandmothers. While their calming counsel, “It will be over soon” wasn’t quite the spoonful of sugar that we hoped for to help the medicine go down, we still trusted their wisdom and opened wide.

No Sugarcoating Oppositions

You can also tell from the woman’s face (the cat doesn’t care) that she understands, but knows it must be done and that it will help. I know that for each of us in our lives, in some way or another, we have endured several spoonful’s of bad tasting experiences. Whatever our challenges, churnings and chagrin, we strive to put our hopes and trust in family, friends, finances, pharmacists, politicians, doctors and Deity to help us find some way to avoid and/or endure the illness and madness caused by the yucky side-effects of life. We’re always thinking hope is on the horizon, only to be given another spoonful of opposition.

It’ll Be Good For You

When I was growing up my Grandpa Ray used to say, “It’ll be good for you” whenever there was an uncomfortable and/or difficult choice (usually a chore) to be done. You know, the kind of chore you knew wasn’t going to be as fun as doing something (anything) else. Isn’t that how we feel about all chores when we’re young (sometimes even when we’re older)? Nevertheless, they must be done. While at this point and perspective in my life, I would certainly like another chance to do any chore again with my grandpa—well, maybe not cleaning fridges, but fixing something with him would be worth it.

The Taste of Life

My point with this painting is that sometimes life is painful and it doesn’t taste good. Even things that are supposed to be “good for us” don’t always taste good. However, I’ve learned that, more often than not, it’s not because the good things taste bad as much as I’ve let my tastebuds forget what good things really taste like.

This painting seems appropriate to be the first in this collection for the new direction of The Rut Less Traveled columns dedicated to Norman Rockwell.

I read an interpretation of this classic composition that suggested this girl could have been an aspiring actress paying her dues—collecting the hats and coats of the “famous” or “successful” people, in which she hopes to become herself someday.

However, at the moment, she not only looks bored and ignored, but she also looks like perhaps she’s having a pouty pity-party (understandably so) as she ponders her pursued path underneath the weight and pressure of packing other people’s paraphernalia.

Not only is she carrying and wearing too many hats; she has to also keep track of them all as to give them back to the correct owners, who will be in a hurry and anxious to get home and hoping to avoid any inconvenience after the convention. I’d like to see the painting of her after it’s all over!

Hat Check Moments

I’m sure that we each have similar “hat check” moments where we’ve already seen (and been) the person in this painful painting when the true chaos of collecting begins. We all know what it’s like to have days and weeks of juggling and struggling to carry all the weights and works during the conventions of our lives. And while this particular painting depicts a hat check girl, it could as easily be the hat check guy. Men can also try and wear too many hats in the name of providing for themselves and their family.

Choked by Challenges

Look closer at the painting and you’ll see there is a cigar at her feet. It’s still burning and the upward wafting smoke is surely bothering her while she’s trying to do her job. She can’t just reach over to pick it up, let alone kick it away because she might drop all the precious belongings and even fall over. Do we use the same reasoning and just tolerate things when we experience uncomfortable trials in our lives? Is it because we’re too busy? Burdened? Blinded? Or perhaps we’re too distracted? Depressed? If we don’t make time to make changes, time will eventually take us.

Do the Dues

I’ll share one final thought from this work of art to help remind and reinforce our hearts during our rutty experiences of life. Yes, we must pay our dues and even sometimes endure the blues. Sometimes we also mix in some green with envy on our personal palettes when we see what we think is the apparent peace and prosperity of all the other people around us. This causes us to feel overwhelmed and even begin doubting, pouting, shrinking and shirking our abilities and responsibilities in our lives. If you’re going to dare compare then don’t despair. Realize that you, too, can accomplish great things, according to your life’s plan.

The Road to Rockwell

I am truly honored and excited to share this new rutty avenue with you. Years ago, when I began writing my life-coaching column “The Rut Less Traveled,” I came across one of Rockwell’s paintings “Hat Check Girl” (1941) and I wrote about it in my weekly column for the local newspaper. As you know, the “The Rut Less Traveled” was a non-religious, but still inspiring companion to my other column, “God’s Porch.” And when I saw this particular painting from Rockwell, I chose to write about it and see if I could find a way apply it to our everyday lives. Little did I know it would lead to writing many more inspiring words about his other great works!

Pictures Worth A Thousand Words

Norman Rockwell and his iconic, storytelling artwork has been a mainstay on the menu of inspirational nourishment since 1912. Over his creative career (and 4,000+ original works), He created artwork for many famous publications including Boy’s Life and the still iconic today The Saturday Evening Post. And you can always find his artwork today on calendars, clothing, books, coffee mugs and more!

Simple and Profound

Rockwell’s works depict simpler times, yet they still deal with many similar situations, including the emotions and drama, that people still face today! They not only provide a glimpse into the past, or escape from reality, but they encourage us to make our lives and our world better no matter our era and errands. While he wasn’t necessarily trying to teach a lesson, or moral of the story with each painting, as we apply his artistic wisdom to the canvas of our lives, we will become our own masterpiece!