Soundtrack to my Life

Music is a huge part of my life. I play it, I listen to it, I learn from it. Sometimes, as I'm going about my daily routines, I find that songs pop into my head, like the background music of a movie. Today, I had to break some news to someone, which made me a little nervous. As I entered the building to go and speak with this person, Flo Rida's "It's Going Down For Real" started playing the depths of my subconscious. I have found myself humming Juston Bieber's "Sorry" after having an argument with someone. The list goes on and on. Like a movie soundtrack, music always finds its way in, to compliment and complete my life.

I'm grateful for music in so many ways...

1. It's a wonderful escape. When I went through a short bout of depression a few years ago, music helped keep me on the upside of the deep, dark abyss. It helped focus my mind on other aspects of life outside my little pity party, and prevented me from spiraling into even more negativity. My rule of thumb: when I'm sad, I listen to upbeat songs. It won't make the problem go away, but one can't be sad when one is dancing.

2. Togetherness. I love listening to music with my kids. Teen Pop is a guilty pleasure of mine. Most of what I like is upbeat and dance-able. The lyrics are usually quite simple. There's not a lot of deep, hidden meaning behind teen pop music, and sometimes that's ok with me. I just need something to move along with and an excuse to lip sync with my kids. 

3. Meaning. On the flip side of the teen pop, there is plenty of music with a story behind it. Sometimes, when you're in a particular kind of mood, songs just scream out at you, saying exactly what you're feeling at that time. 

4. Individuality. Music speaks to each of us in different ways, with different meanings. I love absorbing the songs that I find subconsciously playing, paying attention to what I'm hearing and figuring out what they trying to tell me. I believe music is one of the ways our brain gets our attention. Listen carefully. We all have our own soundtrack playing in our heads from time to time. That's part of what makes it so great. 

5. Bringing out the passion. When I was in college, I played saxophone in a jazz band. One particular concert, I had a duet with a trumpet player, and I was very nervous. As much as I love playing and being on stage, soloing is not my thing. This trumpet player eventually became my mentor, and his advice to me at that time (advice that had he had heard years prior) was "Step in it." Play it, play it hard, play it with passion, and do your very best. But most importantly, just play it. That advice has been a source of encouragement to me for almost 25 years now. And it is some of the best advice I've ever gotten.

I think no matter what you're doing in life, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing with passion.