When the world feels like it's crumbling down around me, or even when it's not, I put on my earbuds and put on my favorite playlist and let my mind project a new reality created by the music. Music has always been an escape - not only an escape but an experience that's almost ethereal. A tune can alter your state of mind, change your moods, and make you feel things and daydream alternate realities.
For as long as I can remember, music has been my space. No one else can touch it. Whatever world I create with the beat is mine and mine alone. That goes for many people. It can bring back memories so vividly that you can almost feel the way you felt at that moment. Our souls connect to music in a way that is almost impossible to describe and prove. There's something scientific and yet spiritual about the way music can affect you. It's in films to create emotion and make you feel some type of way while watching the plot unfold in front of you, allowing you to feel for the characters in the story. People tell stories with musicals, jazz, opera, etc. Choirs sing hymns in churches to praise and communicate to their deity. Mr. Fred Rogers of "Mister Roger's Neighborhood" once stated how he didn't know how to express getting angry or sad so he would play how he felt on the piano. Music is our greatest form of communication.
Author Elena Mannes explains in "The Power of Music" that scientists have discovered that music stimulates more parts of the brain than anything else. Scientists are starting to uncover if they can use music to heal others. This has been something I have always believed. We are beings, composed of atoms. When you split the nucleus open, there are sound waves. We are composed of sound. For music and its sound to be used to heal us would be like piecing together a puzzle about how we as humans work.
For me, music has always connected me to another world locked away. Music brings everyone around the world together in a way nothing else can and I think that that's beautiful. When you listen to music, close your eyes and think about how you feel. Think about where it takes you and I promise you it will take you far from reality and give you a break.
