The Power of Music

     Music. Such a short, simple word, yet to those who recognize it's significance it becomes a word loaded with meaning: to them music is the stem of thoughts, emotions, memories, life experiences, hopes and dreams.

     Music has the potential to heal an aching heart; to soothe the pain of life's struggles; to inspire someone to greatness; and to bring joy to the heart, mind and body.

     Music means a lot to me personally. As a pianist, when I play my music there's this undercurrent of energy that I feel connecting me to the music I play. My fingers play the keys; my thoughts, while varied, echo the cadence and feeling of the song; depending on the song, I sometimes relive different memories, and match the emotions connected to those memories with the intonations of the song, telling myself a story of the past; i'm emotionally involved in my music, an experience that, at it's height, actually floods my brain with a rush of dopamine that gives me a literal high.

     Music helps me connect with other people in more ways than one. Of course, it's always fun talking shop with fellow pianists and sharing music, sometimes taking turns playing our songs. More significant are some of my fondest memories of dancing with my beautiful girlfriend Maryssa; she's an amazing dancer (naturally i've got to be pretty good to keep up with her hahaha:) and when we're dancing--our bodies close, sometimes touching, staring into each other's eyes, laughing, smiling, moving with the music--the music sets the mood and prepares tinder for a flame, then the dancing lights a fire that burns inside the both of us, stoking our emotions: feelings of joy, love, happiness, and fun! It's quite a rush! In this way dancing and, by extension, music, is the conduit by which we re-experience true happiness over and over again.

     The music I listen to reflects my mood or my current activity. When I workout I listen to rock; when I do math homework I often listen to piano; when i'm reading scriptures I listen to hymns and LDS music; when i'm in the shower I listen to several other Pandora stations; and other random times I listen to various types of music channels and genres. 

     So overall music is definitely an important part of my life! I don't know if it means as much to any of you who might read this, but I hope you at least enjoyed the read!