How Music has irrevocably changed my Life
Music, melody, miraculous metres; how can I not describe the enchantment that is music in poetic terms? Music has changed my life for the better, ever since I discovered just how positively mind-altering it could be. I was previously a person who could most aptly be characterized by the expression “a creature of habit”. I repetitiously and somewhat monotonously engaged in the same hobbies, adopted the same perspectives, and ate the same bland foods day after day. What changed this static pattern in my life? The answer is simple: music.
Before the age of 25, I was completely captivated by the magic of books and the safe haven which they allowed me to flee to whenever I was battling an issue of any kind. They permitted me to escape the bonds of anxiety, depression, self-hatred, and any gruesome mindset you can conceive of. Then, I hit a point where the books were not enough. They were just fiction after all; at least the kind that I read. The ironic truth is that I am a realist and the universes which I encountered within my literary travels were not nearly factual enough for the pragmatist that I am. Every word, every action, every thought of nearly every protagonist and character entrenched within the novels that I read conflicted with the steely worldview which I had adopted.
Once the literary euphoria had faded to a dull pulsing behind my attentive eyelids, I began to fully appreciate how much music was a great coping mechanism for not only dealing with serious emotional issues such as stress and anxiety, but for entering into a state of happiness untainted by artificiality and fantastical notions. Music is a construct of authenticity in every sense of the word. When I think of music, I think of an ancient, crumbling edifice which preserves the dignity of bygone eras and also offers opportunities to merge the old with the new. The significance of this is that music seems to expertly preserve the past through gathering bits of antiquity and merging them with contemporary culture and values.
The value and luxury of listening to music on a recreational and academic/analytical basis began to wrest my unconsciousness out of its stupor and that was when I began immersing myself in its cathartic elements on a daily basis. This year was extremely difficult in terms of self-discovery, relationships, and my overall self-concept and music was something that functioned as an incredibly reliable and revelatory passion in my life. I threw myself into an intoxicating mixture of research, rumination, and pure audible appreciation of the multitude of songs and genres of music that defined my newfound interest. I flooded my aural sensibilities with everything from: jazz, to hip-hop, to indie pop and I became completely enraptured with every single one. Sometimes after spending a day or a moment listening to one or more of these songs, I became so enthralled in every single element of spiritual elevation which they possessed that I was able to temporarily forget some of my problems and self-imposed limitations.
I am absolutely not trying to convey that music is a magical solution or antidote to anyone’s problems. It is far from the perfect, prosaic remedy to heal pain and produce complete harmony. It takes a lifetime to achieve that type of equilibrium. The fundamental lessons which it taught me and can impart to you as well are that, music is a unifying principle which can transcend all boundaries and disparities between race, religion, and history. It unifies us because the more music I listened to, the more I began to realize that the majority of songs held a common denominator of: love, strife, grief, alienation, disenchantment, and pure misery. The opposite sentiments apply as well. The pivotal conclusion to be drawn is that we are all suffering in one way or another and music is a masterpiece that so beautifully demonstrates this. I can see my pain mirrored within the lyrical phrases of countless artists and therefore, in the instantaneous blink of an eye the dichotomies between our respective lives are bridged. We are one in our pain and suffering for the duration of an ineffable song of unspeakable tragedy or even unspeakable beauty and it is a magnificent paradigm to fully grasp the significance of.
To conclude this rhetoric on the virtues of music, I would just like to emphasize the fact that I am not healed from the tragedies which I have suffered in the past and present, but music is helping me recover so much more effectively than I would be otherwise. I have experienced and witnessed terrible as well as sublime and surreal moments in my life and music is the soothing mediator that bridges the dissonance between pain and pleasure and helps to repair the shallow trenches of despair dug within the most desperate times. Without music, my life would certainly be a lot less enticing and brilliant in appearance. I am lucky to have found a tool to help dissect my problems, rather than disregard them. If music has not yet charmed its way into your soul, perhaps it might be beneficial to give it an uncritical chance.
