I recently ordered this African Bongo Djembe drum from Amazon. I love it! So does Josie, our collie. I have participated in a drum circle maybe a dozen times in my entire life. The last time I did it was probably over a year ago. I was having dinner with a friend and a drum circle was happening beside the restaurant where we were eating. After we were done eating, my friend and I walked over and impulsively joined in the pulsating circle. It was so fun and relaxing and meditative. Drum circle people tend to be very giving and inclusive, so I have always borrowed other people’s drums. This next time that I am able to safely join in a drum circle, I will now have my own drum to use and my own drum to share. I bought the drum as a reminder of things to look forward to, and as a reminder to keep expanding my interests and to keep following my whims. When I do this, I am truly living life and enjoying it, at its highest level. I can’t join a drum circle right now, and I certainly can’t borrow or share drums right now, but I am looking forward to times when I can do these things which speak to the most innate, instinctual parts of myself. In fact, I have been practicing a little bit with my new toy with this YouTube video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EkwCvjpVPGg
You don’t really need a drum to do a fun drum circle. When my kids were younger, we would do drumming around a fire, with pots and pans and hollowed out oatmeal cartons. What I like best about drumming, is losing yourself in the rhythm. You start out self conscious and embarrassed (I don’t have a natural musical bone in my body), but before long you lose yourself to the freedom and joy of the heartbeat of your life and those lives around you. Drumming is contagious, but in a really good way, quite the opposite of the coronavirus.
