Wednesday, May 4, 2011

HEAR THE MUSIC AND JOIN IN

Last night, I attended the final Nellie McClung choir concert under the direction of Mr. Al Thorliefson. It has been the inspiration of this post.

1) Music…
a. Most of us go to our graves with our music still inside of us- Unknown
b. Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents." - Ludwig van Beethoven.
c. Without music, life would be a mistake – Friedrich Nietzsche

I found these quotes and they stuck out to me. With quote letter a, so many people don’t let their music out…now I don’t believe that literally means melodies and lyrics. I believe that music is an expression of who we are. Music is our air, our thoughts, and our dreams. Songs often contain the words that we are to scared to speak…so we put them to music. I don’t want to die without freedom of music. Yes, I am a singer but if I left it at that, I think I would be missing the point. I want to let my music out. My “music” would be yes, actual music, but also my passions for people with disabilities, my love for my husband, and my desire to be so much more in this life.

Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized 17 December 1770–26 March 1827), had problems. He dealt with abuse, being poor, mental health issues, alcholism, depression, suicidal thoughts, and eventually being deaf. However, I do not believe that his music was taken to the grave with him. He is a perfect example of the first quote.

However that is not my point to this quote. My point is that this quote is self-explanatory. It is one of those quotes that I can read a hundred times and it will amazes me with its brilliant truth each time. No wisdom ever understood, no philosophy ever produced that can ever come close to the revelation that music is. Music can comfort the soul when nothing else, not even wisdom or truth can. Music is life giving.

For myself, words mean the world to me. Music, but more specifically, the words are my “electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invests.” Someone can simply make my day by telling me that they appreciate me. I try to return that favor as much as possible. I have a friend, that years ago, we would write notes to each other and hide them in place for each other. These notes meant the world to me, and I still have them (I love you Cherie!).

“Without music, life would be a mistake”-Friedrich Nietzsche. Yes it would be. Think about a world with no music, no birds, no notes, no melodies…it would be quite depressing I believe. We live in a world that is full of noise…a lot of noise we don’t even hear, white noise. How often do we miss the music? How many other blessings are we missing if we don’t HEAR THE MUSIC AND JOIN IN.