Chasing Dream Harp Along Road via Intention & Connection

I am so super *delighted* to have found my perfect hospice harp! The power of intention was put into action so fast, my head was swirling in early November.

Recently, through following a series of serendipitous links, connecting from one internet dot to the next, I learned of Heartland Harps. I went to the website and was intrigued enough to sign up to receive information. Next, I added a Heartland Harp to my wish list on a document I keep on my computer. Whew! I didn’t realize how fast this would manifest into something special.

Quickly, I received a series of email-articles about the harps David Woodworth has crafted at Heartland in North Carolina. I ultimately explored them and the website, hungering for the beautiful powder blue “Delight” I saw pictured there.

Then, on Halloween, I received an email announcing that David, the creator of the extraordinary Heartland Harps, was going to be touring the West Coast, including Northern California and Southern Oregon, and that would start on 11/3! Yikes! For some time I had been planning a trip to Sacramento and needed to stick with some of my plans, but a bit could be nipped if it meant I could see (& play) the harp in person. David only makes it to the West Coast every 2-3 years so with that incentive I connected and found out that he would be heading up to Eugene, Oregon on I-5 on 11/7. Might we please meet in Ashland as he headed up? I inquired. Yes, sure. Then, on 11/7, I realized that he was already in Williams, CA and if I could scoot up I-5, we could meet ahead of his departure. Done! Arrived at the hotel, met up with him in the lobby, and he had these absolutely amazing harps! What’s so amazing about his harps? They don’t have a speck of wood in them! The only metal is in the tuning parts. They otherwise are made of carbon-fiber, which makes them so lightweight it’s dizzying! My wood harp I was renting, similar in height and number of strings, weighs about 25 pounds….David’s Delight weighs 11!!! It was an unbelievable difference and made me think that I could keep on doing hospice for quite awhile longer, carrying something so lightweight.

IMG_2069Besides, the tone is so wonderfully resounding, especially in the bass, and is easily made sweeter, softer, louder, bolder. I SO wanted this harp, especially when he asked if I’d like to see a white one he had with him. WHITE! I’m not a black fan and white seemed like it could be perfect…. and there she was! The automotive paint that’s used to achieve the white modifies the sound toward the mellower end and made the harp sound even better for hospice. Yet, I had NO intention of purchasing a harp just then – after all, it had only recently made it onto my wish list. I eagerly sent these pics to my husband, just to show him what I was up to…  but honestly, I was “in love” with Delight already. David & I agreed I’d go to the coffee shop, call my husband, think about the on-the-road special he was offering, decide. My husband was Mr. Supportive, which was wonderful. But still, such an outlay… I went back just in time to catch David ahead of his departure up I-5. I *still* couldn’t decide. He laughed with me. We agreed we’d meet an hour up the road at Red Bluff where he had to get gas.

One hour later, I was not much closer to a decision when he phoned to say he was pulling off. I asked one more favor: could he wait one more half-hour until we got to Redding? OK! What a patient man. We met at a Redding gas station and I could no longer stand it. The stunning white DeLight – my name for her – was coming home with me. Right there and then, we loaded her into my Prius, I paid him and came home with butterflies and stars of delight all rolled into one wonderful feeling that I finally had my own, incredibly beautiful, richly resonant, yet oh-so-practical hospice harp: the power of intention at its best!!!

[If you have any interest in a Heartland Harp, I recommend David’s website, accessible via the links on this page. There, you can learn all about the wonderful qualities of his harps, lightweight being only one terrific quality.]

The Harp Music Encircles You

You know, I told a doctor visiting me the other day: 
You doctors have it all wrong. We don't need medicine. You should put the [hospice] harpist in your pocket instead. ~S. T., Hospice Patient~

Today I played for a lovely woman who, until I started playing for her a couple of months ago on a semi-regular basis, had a very poor impression of harp music. It seems her impression was derived from only hearing an occasional “plunk-plunk,” as she called it, at symphony concerts. She didn’t seem to know it was capable of playing a fluid, beautiful melody, and so, when I landed in her room with my hospice harp, I was able to completely change her mind! What a joy! She was totally startled by her experience the first time and is now so grateful when I arrive in her room to play for her every couple of weeks. She prefers to meditate quietly and “get right with God” she told me today, than to have a lot of hub-bub going on around her.

I love how it's all of everything and it all blends into one remarkable sound: harmony, rhythm, flowing melody. ~S.T., Hospice Patient~

Each time I visit she has one or more profound observations to share and today was no exception. I decided to write them down before I forget:

The music encircles you... it's better than medicine! I think the doctors are catching on...
It creates a breakthrough for my mind, body, and spirit. 
~S. T., Hospice Patient~