Music is the universal language of mankind. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. Berthold Auerbach
When certain pieces of music touch my ears, my soul takes flight. Do you feel that way, too?
Soul-stirring music, for me, includes selections from Handel's Messiah; the classical collection of favorites I listened to during my pregnancy and after my daughter was born; Mahler's Enigma, the gorgeous piece my husband and I chose for our wedding; and more.
And then there’s the music of my younger self.
Certain songs make my feet move just like in the late 70s when I was a pre-teen disco-dancing queen in my living room. Others take me back to high school in the 80s, when we “Girls Just Want[ed] to Have Fun” with “Sweet Dreams [that were] Made of This”. We wondered, “How Will I Know” if he really loved us, but we knew without doubt that our “Future’s So Bright, [We Had to] Wear Shades.”
Now, I still have my own dance parties and singing-at-the-top-of-my-lungs sessions, but I make sure only the dog witnesses it. Unless I want to make my family laugh.
Sometimes bluegrass, gospel, and folk music can move me, too—my heart, if not my feet. Allison Krauss sings with such an other-worldly quality that the sound of her voice fills me with longing.
And the worship music we sing at church sometimes makes me wish I was by myself. Unselfconscious, joy-filled, caught in moments of transcendence, my hands in the air and my heart offered up.
Music can take us back in time, deepen the moment we’re in, and set us to dreaming about the future. The sound of the strum of a guitar or a touch of piano keys can sweep over us, resonating in our spirits and touching notes of sadness or joy deep within.
Music brings beauty to our lives, filling the air and our ears with passion and color and freshness, delight and imagination, vision and understanding. Perhaps the most accessible art form, there is nothing in all the world like music.
What type or pieces of music are filled with beauty for you? What do you like about music? Let me know in the comments below.
Photo of guitar courtesy of Jacek Dylan | Unsplash.com.
Photo of cassette tapes courtesy of Hello I’m Nik | Unsplash.com
Photo of violin courtesy of Johanna Vogt | Unsplash.com
At Glimsen, I share glimpses of the beauty around us in nature, the arts, and the unexpected. Click the green button below to get my posts delivered to your inbox once a week, and you'll also get a little printable gift of beauty just for signing up.
