I have always enjoyed silence. Ever since I was a young girl, there existed this craving for my own headspace, a place to think and explore, a place devoid of distraction. Silence was my pensive bedrock.
But then along came…Jim Croce. Who knew Time Came in a Bottle? My craving for silence was suddenly gone and before I knew it, the party was out of control. Bread showed up totally uninvited and brought America and yes, you guessed it…Captain and Tennille with their six-pack of Muskrat Love! My heart was branded . I suddenly had a sacred jukebox filled with rich melodies at the ready, to replenish my soul . My musical salve.
Lately, I’ve started that old jukebox up again. In an effort to replace the crazy making news and bring it down a notch, I’ve found a way to give myself a daily dose of dopamine. I’m now moved by the lyrics and tempo of REM, Cat Steven, George Michael…’Ya gotta have faith’.
As the years have passed, I have unknowingly added layer upon layer to my musical bedrock. Each layer, a unique color and composite of emotionally laden melodies, laced with life experiences. Both, so tightly woven together that I can be transported back in time by that first chord or musical intro. I’m suddenly a sad little 13 yr old girl, crushed under the weight of her first break up or an overly confident teen celebrating her best “Farrah” hair day, ever! Totally!
I’m sure much of music’s calming effect comes from it’s ability to take us back to a simpler time. But perhaps it’s also because it feels effortless. And nothing, lately, has felt effortless. I miss effortless-ness. Don’t you? I miss predictability . This pandemic has ruined my song. It has robbed me of my life’s rhythm, as I knew it. Just as my MS diagnosis did. Just as any life-altering event for any of us has done. We are thrown off course, our melodies seemingly lost at times. But just as I cling to the familiar, I find myself searching for new melodies.
The cadence in the voices of those I hold dear, the morning wren singing out to his partner, the belly laugh of a child, or the sound of our sweet dog’s toenails on the hardwood floor. These are the melodies in my life that I can easily allow to be overridden by life’s chaos and absurdity.
So, my wish is that we all find our new rhythm of life. That we cling to our old melodies while forging new ones. We will never all be on the same sheet of music. Nor will our days be filled with only sweet notes. There will be weeks lacking perfect pitch and month’s of slowed tempo. The lyrics will be foreign to our ears. Life is far from effortless right now but we will get back to that flow, that rhythm of life that sustains us and feeds us. The “key” is to be part of the songwriting, in whatever capacity we can muster. Help to write a song that we can sing “ in perfect harmony”. Ahhh…an ice cold Coke!
So, turn off the news, plug in your music , and find your rhythm of life.