Peace Through Music

A couple of weeks ago I posted about my personal peace plan. I listed five parts to this plan:

Meditation
Yoga
Prayer
Inspiration
Porch Time

When I posted the link on my Well-Groomed Hippie Facebook page, a friend commented that exercise and drawing were keys to his personal sense of peace. As soon as I saw his response I had one of those “duh” moments. This friend is a professional musician and that’s when I realized I’d left out perhaps one of the most important things which contributes to peace in my life – music. I can’t believe I left that out but perhaps it’s precisely because music is such an integral part of my life and always has been.

My grandmother used to tell how, as a toddler, I’d walk around her house singing, “Oh, Jesus, I sure do like you”, which was my version of “Oh, How I Love Jesus”. I must have learned it from her because at that point my family didn’t attend church. Some of my earliest memories are of Grandma singing or whistling hymns as she went about her daily tasks. My mom is a whistler, too, as well as a pianist. She didn’t do a lot of bedtime story reading but if I asked she would play the piano for us at bedtime. My usual request was “Flight of the Bumblebee” which wasn’t much of a lullaby but it was my favorite.

I took piano lessons off and on but as a shy, introverted perfectionist, that was always more of a trial than a pleasure for me. I did learn some about reading music from those sporadic lessons but I truly believe I learned mostly from following along with the hymns in church. My mom would hold the hymnal and run her finger along under the notes. And since we attended a church which took a significant amount of license with the printed music, she pointed out the discrepancies, too.

In junior high and high school I took choir every semester. I also began singing in the adult church choir around 6th or 7th grade. I took a couple of semesters of choir in college and I’ve been singing in our church choir now for well over 20 years. It’s truly one of my very favorite things to do. When I’m rehearsing with the choir I can totally forget everything else going on in my life. During difficult times, it has been a source of inner strength on which I could draw.

Never a day goes by that I don’t listen to music. David bought me an iPod years ago and Chris filled it with thousands of songs. These days I most often listen to Spotify. I have spent an inordinate amount of time making playlists on Spotify. This past Christmas, David bought me a turntable and we’ve started collecting vinyl albums, as well as listening to my old ones from junior high and high school. I foresee a lot of time in vintage record stores.

I just finished the audio version of “Happier At Home” by Gretchen Rubin. It’s an excellent book and I highly recommend it. While listening, I found myself periodically turning off the recording and thinking about the topic of happiness. At one point I asked myself what were some of the most intensely happy moments I’ve experienced in recent years. It turns out that what came to mind were times spent listening to live music. A night with friends enjoying a private concert in a backyard lit by fireflies, an intensely spiritual experience shared with dear friends in New Orleans at a John Boutte´show, certain nights at the Tropical Isle listening to our good friends perform, a trip to McAlester to hear Rowdy Folk, a night in Austin when we felt like we’d been to an old fashioned revival – in a bar (!), those special nights here in town at our favorite dive bar, and so many others…these are the experiences which flood me with an overwhelming feeling of pure joy and a sense that all is right with the world.

Once I realized on a conscious level how important music is to my inner peace, I made a personal commitment to include more of it in my life. I’m by no means a pianist but I can play a little. I have a nice piano so I’m going to start playing again on a daily basis.

We will also continue to look for opportunities to enjoy live music as often as possible. I’m going to make a point of finding a good concert for us to attend this year but we’ll also take advantage of live music here in town and of course, New Orleans.

But since those aren’t daily occasions, I will continue to enjoy music in my daily life here at home. I’ll blast Nine Inch Nails while speed cleaning the house. I’ll mediate to soft, New Age-style music. I’ll listen to one of my Spotify playlists on the porch as the days get warmer. And when the weather doesn’t cooperate, I’ll curl up in my special corner of the library with a glass of wine and some jazz or blues.

Peace out, y’all!

Comments

Lesa McMahon says
April 3, 2013 at 4:34 am

I couldn't imagine life without music. I remember listening to the radio for hours just to catch my favorite songs and hit record on the tape player. 😉 Mixed tapes were a blast to make for friends and boyfriends. I still have some of the mixed tapes Rick made me in high school. 🙂 <3

Melanie says
April 3, 2013 at 2:42 pm

I love music, too – all kinds except opera and rap. Don't care for country either, though I love bluegrass. Like you, I was pretty much forced into piano lessons and hated them for all the same reasons you did. I did play the flute all through jr. high and high school, which I chose do. I wasn't very good (second to last chair!) but rank didn't really matter to me. I simply enjoyed the playing of the instrument.

Deanna Piercy says
April 5, 2013 at 4:28 pm

Lesa: I did that, too. In fact, I still have a cassette I recorded back in junior high. I really can't wrap my head around the notion that some people don't care much about music.

Deanna Piercy says
April 5, 2013 at 4:29 pm

Melanie: I don't like most country music either but like you, I enjoy bluegrass. I wouldn't want to listen to it all the time but I like opera (it's really better live, though). As for rap, I really didn't like it at first but must admit some of it has grown on me. I do like the beat.

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