A Beautiful Mind

Just the other day, while I was having a lunch in the fellowship of many others, I was told that there was a fellow suffering from Asperger's Syndrome who just decided to start playing the piano for whoever would watch.  Asperger's is a severe form of autism and people with autism are known for being able to express themselves beautifully through music, art, and occasionally writing.  Naturally I left the remains of my lunch behind and immediately headed to the room where the performance was taking place.  People with autism are naturally spontaneous - they live in the moment.  In other words, as soon as he decided to stop, he was not going to just start playing again because someone asked him to - at least not very effectively.

Our musically inclined friend played mostly slow pieces from the mid-late 1800s, often known as the Romantic Period.  Having played classical piano as a child, I am aware that these sorts of pieces are incredibly difficult to interpret well, but they afford the opportunity to really express oneself emotionally.  I was not so emotionally mature back then so I had generally favored the faster, more grandiose, more technically challenging pieces.  Nevertheless I was in awe of the beauty this man expressed through music.

I do not actually know for sure if this man had autism.  I left the room after he finished performing.  I did not stick around to listen to him speak or watch him interact with others.  People with autism are known to have difficulty with social interaction as well as with verbal and non-verbal communication.  If he indeed had autism, his outward appearance - perhaps in the form of an awkward demeanor, incoherent speech, and shifty eyes - would conflict with his inner beauty expressed through music.  I felt that he left me with a beautiful impression of himself and I did not want that image to be tarnished.

People with autism predictably often find themselves socially outcast.  The World just does not understand them because the World just does not know how.  These beautiful people may not get much love but they have a lot of love to give.  And they have potential.  If only they are given the chance to express themselves in ways they know best...

Mark 1: 40-45