“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.”

– Joseph Campbell

Fall is nearly here.  Each day we are losing about three minutes of daylight as the sun rises later and sets earlier.  In less than a week, the children will head back to school; and the rhythm of life will move away from carefree summer days toward days of preparing for the silence of winter.  It is impossible to exist in this time of changes and not pay attention to the cycles and seasons that have made up another year of our lives.  The start of school also means the beginning of Community Education opportunities for those of us who no longer attend high school; and on September 14, the drummers will gather once again to learn African Drumming.

As I sit this morning in the sweet aftermath of last night’s drum circle, I find it hard to believe that it was only a year ago that I walked into the unknown territory of the beginner class and tentatively placed my hand on a djembe for the first time.  By the end of that first hour, I was hooked.  In part, I blame the teacher, whose enthusiasm overrides any misgivings a newbie might bring to drumming.  At a deeper, more personal level, I would say that having the chance to explore making rhythms on a hand drum has reconnected me with a part of my humanity that had become buried in the busyness of my life.  It always amazes me, when I participate in a circle, that such a large number and variety of people can come together — each with his or her own drumbeat — and within minutes find a common heartbeat that brings the whole circle together as a living, breathing, connected organism that includes every participant in the rhythm that is its life.

I think of the way that we represent a much larger universe where each individual is welcome to feel the heartbeat of creation and take a place in the collective organism where we all are one.  There is something about drumming that draws me to that place; and from the first moment that I played the first tone, I could feel the universe answer.  If, as Campbell says, our goal is to match our own heartbeat with that of the universe and our own nature with that of Nature, then I believe that drumming is a key that can unlock the door to that feeling of harmony and knowing that we belong to something far greater than our own small lives.  In that harmony, we find unity.  In that unity, we find strength and common purpose.  In that space where all exist as one, we find peace.  In that peace, humanity can be healed.

Maybe that is why the drummers I’ve met are such amazing people.  They are filled with love and compassion and generosity toward anyone in need.  They have felt the heartbeat that we all share, and they understand that what benefits each of us benefits us all.  Whether through drumming or in another way, we all long to feel connected to something larger than ourselves.  We all long to find the heartbeat of the universe that is constantly creating and sustaining our very lives.  Once we have found that heartbeat, we are forever changed — back to the beings we were created to be.  Can you hear it?  Can you feel it?  Embrace it — it belongs to you!