Growing up as a younger child, I just never fit. I was awkwardly quiet, and moved around quite a bit between the ages of 10 and 14. In those formative years, where others seem to be able to make life long friends. I was always the kid ‘picked last.’
At times I felt invisible, and it was not until I came into my own at University, that I realized that it was music that kept me sane!
Perhaps a form of ‘child meditation’, listening and growing up with a variety of genres, and having parents who always supported trying new musical things – my best friend truly was my Sony Walkman! I’m sure others reading this – can relate.
So – was that bliss, or survival? Likely a bit of both at the time, but as life has evolved, family ensued – the moments I give and receive around music each day, is truly bliss.
There are major historical moments globally, where music has turned tension into bliss. Even in our darkest moments, music can in an instant, change that mood, your focus and place you in a blissful place.
(To read another bliss article on the power of music, click here!)
It can compartmentalize, it can help get emotion out from deep inside, and being associated with EVERY major occasion throughout life – it is the only language the entire globe can speak (enter Coca Cola commercial ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony’).
Why does music make us happy? Or sad? Or both at the same time? Because it supports the release of dopamine along with a host of other hormones. So depending on how, where and when the music landed – the reaction can be incredibly palatable.
- B for Brain Food: Music feeds our brain with calm, rage, love, sadness. It works out our brain as if it’s a muscle, providing overall wellness and sense of being.
- L for language of the globe: Travel throughout the world and it would be rare for someone to not know the music of the Beetles, or Elvis, or more recently Beyonce, Lady Gaga. Music translates, regardless of the dialect.
- I for Introspective: When I need to think, the music comes on. Some thoughts are planned, others are created because of the style and impact of the music in that moment.
- S for Safe Place: Music has provided safety for so many. Kids within a tense home environment. Those who struggle with words and can use music to reflect to others their thoughts.
- S for Societal Impact: Landing significant political messages. Bringing communities together. Learning the history of a culture through its music. Popular musicians performing for a cause.
It was Beethoven himself who said, “music is … a higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy” — which explains the power of music to elevate emotion and at times…..feeling blissful.
Music is a gift each one of us can give ourselves on a regular basis. This is not a statement of how much talent is required. It is a statement of how one can embrace music in their lives as a therapeutic tool.
Take a moment and think about the impact that music has on your daily life. Seek ways for it to provide moments of pure joy – pure bliss!
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