May you always have work for your hands to do,
May your pockets hold always a coin or two,
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you,
And May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
Once a visiting musician said to me in an empty auditorium, "Play, and listen to the silence between the notes. The silence between the notes is as important as the music itself." Enhanced by the emptiness, the sound of my flute soared over the space and sang back from the far wall. But the sílences where I paused to breathe were even more lovely and articulate, creating a wholeness I had not perceived before. The silence shaped itself to the voice of the flute. The loveliness of the music depended upon my saying "yes" to the silence between my notes.