It’s often easy to get lost in our own world, forgetting how we are connected to everything. We march to the beat of our own drum, unique and individual, however separate. I remember a time when I thought this to be the goal of oneself, to define myself apart from others. I concentrated on how my drum looked, how it sounded, how it was received, and what that sound meant. I still come back to this idea, when I feel like I’m not connected with others.
However, this singularity does not create rhythm in the world. If all of us play our drum without regard for the others in the circle there is no synchronicity, no rhythm. Chaotic, unintelligible noise is the sum, and as such, disagreement with each other. A beat can only be created when we play together. We look to someone to take the first step, to lead the intention of the music. As it is created we join in with our own voice. We can choose to play the same beat that is being played; perhaps it is not familiar to us and we learn from it. We can simply listen, if we choose. Or we can play our own beat alongside the original, contributing in our creative way by helping it grow and expand.
In this way, we connect with others in a way more powerful than our drum could ever be on its own.