The Creator's Request

Once, a very long time ago, a gift was given to a child. This child was part of a middle-class family, the salt of the earth, living in an unimpressive town at the foot of the great Obersaltzburg. The request was really quite simple -- allow the child to grow in a nurturing environment until he was strong enough to bear his gift, and able to deal with the attacks of ego against it. For yes, the irony of this gift to a child was that, in order to use the gift as God had intended, he needed to remain a child himself. No thoughts of worldly gain should bind him to the earth, no competitiveness should determine the scope of his projects. Mostly, the child should be allowed to have his own voice in all things; with the understanding that once he reached the age of consent he alone would communicate with God regarding its development. Were this to be the case, he would have stayed under the protection of the Spirit which comprised the soul of this extraordinary gift. He might have stayed in the small town, become a teacher as well as a performer, and perhaps even started a school. He might have had visitors come from far and wide to learn with him and listen to his music. He might have been a valued guest at many venues throughout Europe. He might have married happily, had many children, and lived a long and prosperous life. He might have chosen to have the abundance of his earnings given in trust to the school he started, which was now flourishing. By putting God first, he might have achieved the fulfillment of the gift he had been given -- setting up the kingdom of God in music.