THE MOST DIFFICULT INSTRUMENT TO PLAY
Do you know what is the hardest instrument in the orchestra to play?
The hardest instrument to play is second fiddle. While all the rest
of the instruments have their own sections, the violins are divided
into two parts - "first" and "second" violins.
First violins are often the stars of the show. They get the melody
lines. They get to show off. They sit next to the audience.
Back behind, where they are hard to see, are the second violins. They
play a supporting role. They play harmony to the first violins.
Theirs is a service role. Their job is to round out the sound of the
other instruments. They serve the orchestra. They do what is not
glamorous so that the whole will be beautiful. Without the second
violins, the orchestra would sound incomplete.
You know what the hardest role to play in life is? Second fiddle. To
play second fiddle is to play a supporting role for someone else. And
it is sometimes a service role; doing what is not glamorous, usually
behind the scenes, so that the whole can be more beautiful.
The late Leo Buscaglia, that effervescent educator, speaker, author,
and lover of life, used to tell his university students that there is
a world out there dying to be loved! He challenged his students to
love and often told them that serving others is the way they can find
such things as happiness and joy.
He sometimes told about Joel. Leo got Joel hooked on serving. He took
him to a nursing home and said, "You see that woman sitting over
there? I want you to go and introduce yourself to her."
Joel was not looking forward to his nursing home visit. But he
nevertheless went to the stranger and introduced himself. She looked
at him skeptically and asked, "Are you one of my relatives?"
Joel answered, "No, I'm not."
And she said, "Good. I hate my relatives. Sit down, son, and talk to
me." He did and they talked.
He went back the next week. And the next. They developed a close
friendship and Joel soon looked forward to his visits. He learned
something about the joy of serving. About working behind the scenes.
About playing second fiddle. And he made one woman's world a little
more beautiful.
