Threading A Camel Through The Eye Of A Needle

The eye of the needle mentioned in the book of Matthew in the Christian bible was one of several gates that provided passage through the city of Jerusalem's defensive walls. The Needle Gate was used when the city's main gates were closed at night and used for people entering the city "after hours."

The biblical term "threading the eye of a needle" is used as a metaphor for a very narrow opening and relates to a camel as in - it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of god.

So what, you may ask, is the relevance to the subject matter of threading a needle and my mindfulness? Well, I play the guitar. I am not an Eric Clapton or a Jimi Hendrix, not even close but do I get great enjoyment out of not just playing but cleaning, handling, fiddling, tuning and restringing my guitars. It is a great means of getting outside my own head when encountering a writing block or wanting to relax and find some peace from annoying thoughts that constantly intrude upon my grey matter.

The guitar is one of the most frustrating musical instruments to learn. It also, again in my humble opinion, provides a great sense of satisfaction when I manage to learn to play a very difficult chord or a particularly difficult riff with my stubby fingers.

Music is the food of the soul someone once said and it works for me. Living in this manic world and becoming more manic every day, the soul of every human being needs soothing. Music transcends generations and transcends time. I look upon the strings of my guitars being the threads and the needle being my ears if that makes any sense at all. If it doesn't at this time, keep reading.

There are many quotes on the impossible, referencing threading the needle and angels dancing on the head of a pin but I prefer my own; restringing a guitar is my version of threading a needle. It requires focus, concentration and much lip biting. The successful end result is music to my ears.

Music is amazing when you think about it. There are only seven notes in the musical keys and 24 keys but these seven notes and the keys enable the composition of millions if not 100's of millions of songs, musical pieces and melodies.

There is little consensus on any particular theory for the origin of music. Input on this subject matter has included contributions from archaeologists, cognitive scientists, ethnomusicologists, evolutionary biologists, linguists, neuroscientists, paleoanthropologists, philosophers and psychologists. I'm sure early humans listened to the sound of birds and attempted to imitate them in some way, possible whistling. I think whistling was probably the first human musical instrument.

In the strictest sense, prehistoric music, more commonly termed primitive music, in the past encompasses all music produced in prehistory cultures beginning at least 7 million years ago when humans and chimpanzees diverged from a common ancestor.

However, I digress. Getting back to threading the needle, every now and then, I replace the strings in my guitars. It involves removing the bridge pins, removing the ball end of the strings and then unwinding the old strings from the tuning pegs. Once the old strings are removed, the fret spaces are nicely cleaned. Then, the ball end of the strings are inserted in the bridge pin holes, the bridge pins inserted and the other ends are threaded through the tuning pegs or as I call it, threading the needles of the soul of my guitar. The tuning pegs are the knitting needles of the guitar - in a manner of speaking.

Once all the strings are inserted, then it's a matter of tuning. And, there is nothing as sweet as the sound of well-tuned, brand new strings. Kind of like angel music. Crisp. Clear. Great on the ear. Great on the soul. An escape from the clatter of everyday life.

And to quote William Shakespeare: “If music be the food of love, play on." You were so right William!

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