W.T.F. (why the flute)?

why… why the flute, with so many types of instruments out there, why play a flute. the reason why i chose a flute is a great place as any to start trying to answer that question. i was seventeen must’ve been the mid 90’s, i had an after school job at the mall and i saw this small part of the store i worked in where this dude had rented a small bit of space, he would drive out to reservations and buy things from native american artists and resell them in various places. he had all kinds of stuff from scrimshaw to quill work, kachinas and pipes, paintings even drums and so many more of the coolest things i have ever seen, things that were made by artists and craftsman keeping their ancestrally significant traditions alive, the multi-generational wisdom in all of these artistic and spiritual artifacts were profound and wasted no time capturing my imagination as i bought up everything i could and gifted the items to the people close to me telling them the stories that were told to me about the specific items and their makers and how lucky we were to have someone share all of this with us, and yes… he did in fact… have a flute (but not for long), he held it for me as i saved up for it, as soon as i could i bought it and asked him how to play it, he had no idea, all he had for me was “find a tone, and follow it. if that doesn’t work just find another tone and try again, basically if you really want to play… just don’t stop” he also said the block tied to it had a position and it really did matter that it stays put. so i was on my own, listening to jethro tull and hariprasad chaurasia, conjuring images of caine from kung fu, looking at pictures of Krishna and wondering what he was playing, i would go out and get lost in the hills and play to birds, i found my way when i started looking in, i followed a tone and it took me inward deeper and deeper, i had in fact, found a way, all that was required was a strong desire and an ability to remain open and start over and over on the path of infinite beginnings. no tuner, no amp, no cables or pedals, no picks or plectrum or slides, no need for electricity no strings or anything at all, just a handheld as well as light device perfect for tuning into inner space. you take a flute with you and it will take you somewhere as well, connecting you with the ethers in a place where words have no meaning, sound itself is all that matters, shaping it, playing with it, being shaped by it, real magic is at work when you make that connection, when you play your way to that place, just you and a flute, until neither matter at all and seem to vanish as the sounds and emotions take over, the human and the flute become meaningless as the emotions of the temporary tones take on a life of their own. the flute is a transcriber translating the wisdom of the heart, it does not matter what language you speak, the heart is always understood through the flute… even if no one is around to hear it… you are heard! you left a mark in the atmosphere, you created vibrations that will carry on, your frequencies have been freed, you can rest knowing you have done something, you have created something invisible, you made magic, in a world where so many collect… you… have created!