By Hans Ebert
Much has been said about the power of music, but one has to wonder if this is truly understood or celebrated, and just how much healing power it has.
Some of us have tried climbing those 12 Steps, but, for whatever reason, too often, that Higher Power is either not at home or else he or she might have passed you by without realising it.
There are also those times when the person who pushes you into finding this elusive butterfly of life is the only “higher power” needed, but both can’t see it and so all those castles in the sky come crashing down.
Music, on the other hand, is a Higher Power. All you need to do is let it in, and, as Dobie Grey sang, Drift Away. You could be with everyone, but, most importantly, with music around you, you’re by yourself with your thoughts.
The background ebbs and flows to whatever music is playing in your head- that sweet soul music that reaches parts of one’s emotional being one sometimes forgets to tap into because we’re often too preoccupied in looking for answers when whatever you’re looking for could be right in front of or around you.
There’s then that exchange of music between friends and strangers that don’t need words. When with real friends, or if there’s a special closeness, there are no need for words. They just get in the way. It’s whatever musical story is unfolding in your head. I might hear Dylan’s Blonde On Blonde or Highway 61 Revisited one way, which might take me on an adventure with no direction of home whereas someone else might hear the same music, but as a journey on the road to self-realisation and salvation. It’s a trip, it’s a prayer and it’s something deeply personal.
You don’t need to learn music, or learn how to appreciate it, because it teaches you what’s inside you and who and holding you back. And there’s no ageism involved. The music of Sinatra can blend with the songs of Lennon or Jimmy Webb or Joni Mitchell or Lorde or the brilliant Maggie Rogers to create your own Three Penny Opera. Music: It’s what you make of it. And it’s out there for free. Use it wisely and always with respect.
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