This week I was given a significant complement by my mountain dulcimer instructor. Of all her students, she told me, I was the one who put the greatest consideration into bringing out the full potential of the instrument.

Now I can't take full credit for this. My instrument was built by a master luthier. Years of craftsmanship went into everything from the selection of the wood to the careful placement of the frets to the delicate inlay. From the beginning, I knew that I had an obligation to learn to play this dulcimer at the level it deserved.

Today in meeting it came to me: What would our meeting be like if we treated it as a musical instrument created by the Master Luthier? How would the music sound? Would it be a collection of individual melodies that competed for attention? Would the playing be thin and tentative? Or would it be a melody and harmony that healed, sustained, celebrated and hallowed the earth?