Andor Foldes is now seventy-two, but he recalls how praise
made all the difference for him early in his career. His first recollection of
an affirming word was at age seven when his father kissed him and thanked him
for helping in the garden. He remembers it over six decades later, as though it
were yesterday. But the account of another kiss that changed his life says a
great deal about our inner need for purpose.
At age sixteen, living in Budapest, Foldes was already
a skilled pianist. But he was at his personal all-time low because of a
conflict with his piano teacher. In the midst of that very troubled year,
however, one of the most renowned pianists of the day came to the city to
perform. Emil von Sauer was not only famous because of his abilities at the
piano, but he could also claim the notoriety of being the last surviving pupil
of Franz Liszt. Sauer requested that young Foldes play for him. Foldes obliged
the master with some of the most difficult works of Bach, Beethoven, and
Schumann. When he finished, Sauer walked over to him and kissed him on the
forehead.
"My son," he said, "when I was your age
I became a student of Liszt. He kissed me on the forehead after my first
lesson, saying, 'Take good care of this kiss―it comes from Beethoven, who gave
it me after hearing me play.' I have waited for years to pass on this sacred
heritage, but now I feel you deserve it." ―Tim Kimmel, Little House on the Freeway, pp.
41-42.
When we receive a blessing, such as the kiss which started
with Beethoven, we have the responsibility of passing it on. Blessings were
never intended to be hoarded. They are to be shared. And the more people with
whom you share your blessings, the more the blessing is multiplied.
Think about the kiss
from Beethoven. What if Beethoven had kissed a hundred young men and women during his career? Each of them would, in
turn, kiss one hundred students. By the 3rd and 4th
generation, we would be talking about thousands of young people who were,
perhaps, ready to quit who now have received the most encouraging thing they
could imagine.
What is to keep this very process from happening in our
generation? Let it begin with ME and YOU!
He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort
others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort
God has given us. (2 Corinthians 1:4 NLT)
