power of music

There are few mediums in art that invoke immediate emotion. Pictures, whether painted in oil or shot through a lens, may or may not bring up feelings of peace, or nostalgia, or intrigue. Words can move mountains, but it takes a bit of work on behalf of the reader. But music. From the first moment you hear the fiddle, or the beat of the drums, or the tuning of the violins – it draws energy and sucks emotions and you’re left breathless at the end. I honestly can’t imagine life without it, and if I were deaf I’d have to create imaginary songs in my head just to survive. Blind I could do, but please Lord Jesus don’t take away my music.

This can cause problems for my household, since many instructions come out of my brain in song, and we often have impromptu dance parties. And I can’t stand cheesy children’s songs, so instead of listening to Itsy Bitsy Spider we bust it down with Natasha Bedingfield. I ain’t gonna lie. I’ve got a pocket full of sunshine. I really do. And if I have to tolerate a Taylor Swift song now and again, who am I to pick and choose what music my daughter is attracted to? After all, we love what we love.

Music combines harmony and rhythm and poetry, so in that sense I believe it’s the most brilliant of all the art mediums. I love the fact that you can be transformed so instantly, like our bodies were designed to take it in. Even if your limbs can’t dance your eyes will, and your fingers will twitch, and your feet will start tapping with the beat. Because our lives are on one translucent string until death and music is what makes that string vibrate with ecstasy. It’s brilliant and simple and classic all at the same time, and I thank God for all that joy wrapped up inside four minutes.

On that note, here is my most recent play list.