I'm sitting here in my friend's coffee shop (www.theredenver.com) As is the way that things go, we're talking politics and community. It's been a meandering conversation that I have enjoyed emmensely. One of the great parts of the conversation has been the music playing the whole time. It's been meandering through genres the same as our conversation. I've laughed in recognition, danced in my seat from a good beat and smiled at a memory invoked.
What I realized was that this is how I like to experience music, as part of my life. I went camping over the weekend and we played a lot of music. Some reminded me of breakups, some reminded me of college, some reminded me of old friends...each song reminded me of a different kind of joy.
These two experiences got me thinking. Music really does act like a soundtrack for your life. Although we don't live in a movie, our life still has a soundtrack. For me it's classical music when I have to drive in traffic (cuts down on road rage), jazz if I'm thinking my own thoughts, bossa nova if I'm feeling sexy and every so often, I gotta play some country to tap my toes to...you know what I mean.
When you're getting ready for work, if you listen to music, it's probably different than what you're listening to when you're getting ready to go out. The older you get, your taste has a tendency to change. You still like your old music, but you have a new appreciation for music you didn't listen to previously. You usually have more experience, colouring how you perceive music. And just like smells, music has very specific memories attached to it. Love songs seem to be the most meaningful...at least for me. So much can be said about your life based on the music you're listening to.
What a joyful way to live though! Living each day with music expressing how you're feeling, your thoughts...music with words can be incredibly expressive of how you feel. Songwriters can sometimes express your emotions so much better than you can. And it sounds so much more meaningful set to music! Hello...can we say mixtape?
As many of you know, I'm staying with my parents right now. They are both huge newshounds. So the televisions in the house are always on. I can go days without turning on the television, as long as I have the internet. So, I when I first got to the house, I couldn't figure out what was missing. Then I realized it was the music. I can go a week without tv, but, I cannot go without music for more than a few hours. I really miss it.
When I was recovering from a low emotional time it was music that carried me and reminded me of my joy. It was music that connected me back to myself. It was music that gave me the power to look past the hard parts. Sometimes, I would just play music that made it impossible for me not to dance. Pandora Radio was my best friend...it just kept me dancing until I reconnected to my joy. (pandora.com)
We sing in the shower. When I was a child I used to make up my own songs. To this day, I remember the preamble to the Constitution, how a bill becomes law and what a conjunction is because of School House Rock. Music is really the fabric of our lives (no offense to the cotton industry).
What's on your soundtrack? What music makes you smile? Turn off your tv and play some music...listen to what your joy sounds like.
Until next time...
Joyfully yours,
Robyn
No comments:
Post a Comment