That morning, the sky was a masterpiece painted by nature. But my heart felt a little weary and hurt. I arrived at the office to work earlier than anyone else. Since no one was there yet, it was so quiet. I searched through Spotify and chose to play a relaxing playlist I had never listened to before. Then, I started booting up my laptop to work.
When I least expected it, soft piano notes began playing. The melodies were simple, but hearing them in the stillness moved me deeply. It felt like time stopped.
The gentle tunes trickled into my heart, then my whole body. I closed my eyes and felt the music flow through me. I could really feel the notes were slowly picking up and piecing back together the broken parts inside me. So gently, so tenderly. Lightly, like they knew going faster would hurt me. I was touched. Like someone understood exactly what I had gone through and was hugging me tight.
Other times, when my mood was better or in a different space, I replayed that playlist but couldn’t find that same feeling again.
Sometimes, I’m like a wounded animal needing shelter. And music, along with nature, has always been the medicine I need most for my wounds.
Perhaps I don’t need to say much about the healing power of music since there is already much research on this. I simply want to share with you the wondrous ways music has graced my own life.
I don’t confine myself to any one musical genre. From ballads, orchestral pieces, and folk tunes to EDM or rock, I listen to it all. I use music to mark different chapters of my life’s journey, all the beautiful memories I never want to forget.
Certain songs are tied to different places and emotions for me. I listen to rock when my life is going through its most “rock” phase. I listen to instrumental music when I need to feel like someone understands me right now but can’t express it to anyone. I have a pretty bad memory. But the fortunate thing is that every old song can help me recall vivid images, scents, spaces, and emotions from particular moments in my past.
Music and I, we share an unspoken, intuitive relationship like that.
Perhaps that’s also why I chose to be a radio broadcaster for music programs over the years. Not for a living – it was just a side job. But I love the feeling of picking a song and having so many others listening along with me. One song is playing out, but in different spaces and places, carrying different stories to each listener.
If your heart feels very tired and broken, I want to gift you this song. I came across it during a difficult time. When the first 8 notes played, my heart was reached.
Like the title “Where Did You Go”, I feel like myself standing at my front door – body hurt and dirty, after a long and thorny journey. So much had happened. And someone I love opened the door. He said: “Dear, where did you go? I’ve been waiting for you.” He wiped the sweat from my forehead. Put bandages on my wounds. And softly kissed my forehead. “It will all be okay now.” Yes, this song instils in me a sense of “coming home.”
I hope it soothes your heart when you listen too.
I hope you also find music a warm hug for your soul, like I do.
I hope music can, in a tiny way, help you get through whatever battle you can’t tell anyone about.
Jasmine.
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