the violin

"It taught me patience. That I could not achieve difficult things immediately, but if I continued to work and try, I would eventually be able to do things that seemed impossible before. Anger, frustration, despair, giving up, accomplished nothing. Patience and hard work could accomplish a great deal, The accomplishment gave me confidence. If I could do this, I could do other things that seemed very difficult. I might not always be able to understand just exactly how, but if I did not give up and kept trying i could perhaps eventually solve any problem that I felt needed solving. The trying involves concentration. Success does not come about by magic but by full concentration of the mind and body on the problem, When solution to the problem comes, it may not be fully understood intellectually or rationally, but it is a solution because it works."
Toba Sensei
from "The magic of Matsumoto: The Suzuki Method of Education" by Carolyn M Barrett