Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace ~ St. Francis

Not to attempt to correct St. Francis, but to extend. A musical instrument can't play itself. A musical instrument is nothing without a player. Is the player God? Sometimes. But the player can also be anyone who devotes themselves to artistry, whether first-time beginner or polished virtuoso. The one who makes music always makes music WITH an instrument. We are not peace. We are the instrument on which someone plays a peaceful song.

Most of us remember the "Terrible Recorder Meme" of "My Heart Will Go On." The recorder gets of grief for being children's #1 headache machine. The name comes from Middle English, record, which meant to practice, to recite, to rehearse -- in short, to learn through mistakes -- to be BAD. Recorders are SUPPOSED to sound awful. If learning had a sound, it would be the recorder. I get mad at myself when I can't do something well the first time. I don't try things because I don't want someone with a phone to record me and turn me into an internet meme. What if we all gave ourselves permission to BE a recorder on ONE THING? In the language of St. Francis, what if we were awful long enough to become instruments of peace?