Express Yourself

This past weekend I went to a friend's doctoral flute recital. I had heard her play once or twice when she filled in for us in the orchestra at church, but I'd never heard her play by herself. Obviously, playing the flute is a large part of her life, since she's pursuing a DMA in flute, but I know her as a girl in my Sunday School class and a middle school music teacher. She's a happy, bubbly person; someone I don't think I've ever seen in a bad mood. Even when she's having a bad day, she has joy. She's a great person to be around.

And boy howdy, is she an amazing flute player. She has God-given talent and she works incredibly hard, and it shows in the beauty and expressivity of her art. Something else shows in her playing, as well. Now, I don't pretend to be able to read anyone else's mind, but all of the emotions that we never see--the anger, frustration, even sensuality (there was one Astor Piazzolla piece about the history of the tango)--that she reserves only for expression through her music, were on full display during her recital.

It got me to thinking about the outlets that other people use to display those emotions--writing, singing, just going ahead and saying them. Sometimes a simple facial expression betrays the true emotion of the moment. What is your choice of outlet? Do you know for sure?