Build a Playlist for Life

Music is one of humanity’s greatest gifts to itself.  Music can transcend the differences we believe we have and connect us, in ways few other things can.

Music can give us the truth, when we can’t find it ourselves; it can transport us, and it can heal our souls. So, with all that said, and all it is capable of, maybe we should be building a playlist for life, and let the music do all the beautiful things it can for us.

“Music can change the world.” – Beethoven

Music can lift us up, inspire us to go further, and shine a light into our very souls. It has this ability to remind us, that while we may think we are so different, we all share in the fabric of life. And those shared experiences are often highlighted by the music in our lives.

Music can be a time machine

One of the great abilities of music is to instantly transport you to a point in time. With just one lyric or note of the melody, you can miraculously be taken back to a time long ago, to a memory that was hidden within. At that moment, you can feel the same emotions from that moment in time and relive a memory that lifts your soul.

How many of us have wanted to just remember that feeling from way back when? Or reminisce about some sweet moments from the past? Music, is your free time machine, anytime you need it.

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything”. -Plato

For me, I love music’s ability to serve as a time machine.  I mean, I swear, it’s one note from Bobby Brown’s “My Prerogative” or Will Smith’s “Parents Just don’t Understand”, and I am back to being a kid when my siblings and I thought ourselves some kind of cool family band (even though we couldn’t hold a tune), who reveled at performing for our adoring throngs of fans (pretty much just mom and dad).

Music keeps me close to my past, and better yet, closer to my memories. I can hear one note from The Outfield’s “Your Love” and remember, vividly, teaching my boys the magic of one-hit wonders of the ’80s, and being proud to this day, that they know the lyrics of that song. My musical time machine never fails me, when I need to go back to the time they were little, not grown men, and I am grateful for its incredible gift to take me back.

“Music is life. That’s why our hearts have beats”.

So, find your own musical time machine songs. Take some time and remember those songs that had you dancing your heart out as a kid. Think back to the song that reminds you of your first love, your favorite childhood memory, or a moment in time with your babies, your love or your besties, and enjoy the experience.

Add the songs to your playlist, that take you back in time, and let you revel in all that you have done and every beautiful memory you hold.

Music is a universal connector

Music offers us the chance to connect on a level far deeper than most of us allow ourselves to do in our day-to-day lives. It gives us a chance to connect through our fundamental humanity. It reminds all of us, that we feel joy, pain, anger, hurt, laughter and, most importantly, love.

It doesn’t matter where you come from, how old you are, or what you believe in…because, at the heart of it all, we are all working to get through this life, and sharing in so many similar tragedies and triumphs as we go.

“Music is a language within itself, with a language we all understand”. -Stevie Wonder

And while it is our humanity that can connect us all, it is often the music that works as the glue, with its own language. Once we hear our song, instantly, we can know we are not alone, and someone out there is speaking for us.

Music can connect us with empowerment.  I mean, who hasn’t felt scared or hurt at some point, only to hear Gloria Gaynor remind us that “I Will Survive”, and immediately we know, we are always able to find our strength and come back even better than before.

Maybe you stand up a little taller after Demi Lovato reminds us that there is nothing wrong with being “Confident”, or you feel able to pick yourself up and try again after Queen belts out the lyrics that “I’ve had my share of sand kicked in my face, but I’ve come through” in “We are the Champions”.

There are so many songs of connection and empowerment to choose from, you only need to find the ones that speak to you.

Music is an emotional thermometer

Music is an invisible thermometer into our very souls, that can tell us, when we don’t always say the words out loud, how we are feeling. That is why we connect so quickly, whether it’s a sad song when you need to cry, or that sweet melody, that brings a smile to your face, when you feel joy.

Music offers us an outlet, for any emotion you can feel.  It gives you a place to channel every ounce of anger, joy, pain, frustration, excitement, heartache or hope, when you simply listen.

“Music is a language that doesn’t speak in particular words, it speaks in emotion.” – Keith Richards

Let music remind you that your emotions matter. Your emotions are your constant companion as you journey through life, and they represent the experiences that live inside of you. But sometimes your emotions don’t get the chance to speak, and music can give them their proper voice.

Your emotions are there to help you know your truth and acknowledge what you have experienced. Feeling angry?  Don’t deny it.  Anger needs an outlet, or it becomes toxic when it dwells within.  Give it a voice. 

For me, I have learned to allow (even embrace) my own anger, with the help of Eminem, Metallica, and Nine Inch Nails. Permit yourself your anger with a musical voice and add it to your playlist when you need to let the music scream for you.

Got the blues? While none of us want to lock ourselves into sadness, we do need to honor it, and then try and release it. Music can give your sadness a key from its cage. (Try Lewis Capaldi “Someone I used to love”, or if you really want to run through the Kleenex go for Eric Clapton “Tears in Heaven”). Let your sorrow out, and let your soul let go of the pain you have been holding onto.

The point is, music can help you take your emotional temperature, and honestly address your feelings, helping you see, feel, and honor your truth.

Music is both medicine and motivation

Music can be inspiring and healing in so many ways. It can restore and remedy us when no medicine can, and it can encourage us when all else fails.

Maybe it is just me, but when the world gets to be too much, sometimes I need to find a way to escape it, even for a moment. Music can be that chance, to let myself heal, and it serves as instant medicine, from life’s attack on my optimism or joy.

“Music can heal wounds, that medicine cannot touch”. -Debasish Mridha

So, if you need to heal, grab a dose of musical medicine. You could try The Beatles “Let it Be”, Mariah Carey’s “Hero”, Lauren Daigle’s “You Say” or Sia’s “Alive”. Enjoy the journey of finding what soothes your soul, and add it to your playlist. Let the medicine never be further than your fingertips.

Sometimes it is the music itself that moves you to your motivation.  Don’t believe me? Try to listen to the theme music to Rocky, without finding yourself shadowboxing and feeling like the champ yourself. Realizing you need to change? Just try Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” and feel inspired to be the start of something beautiful, starting with you.

For me, there are endless songs that inspire me, reminding me that hope is never farther than my reach, love really is going to overcome all, and I am stronger than I know. These songs are amazing medicine. Let them flood your playlist, so that whenever the doubt, the pain, or the frustration sets in, you can take a dose of joy, hope, and healing to set your soul right.

*** Some of my own favorite soul-inspiring songs: Most of “The Greatest Showman” soundtrack, particularly “This is Me” and “A Million Dreams”, “Brave” by Sara Bareilles, “Don’t Give Up on Me” by Andy Grammer, “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” by Journey (of course, I am a child of the 80’s), “One Love” by Bob Marley, or “Defying Gravity” from Wicked, just to name a few.***

“One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain”. -Bob Marley

There is no wrong playlist, as long as it is yours!

The beautiful thing with building your own playlist, is you can’t mess it up. How many things can you say that about in life?

Here is something you can do, for yourself, that can offer you comfort during pain, solace during the storm, and joy and hope during uncertainty. So, take some time to remember what speaks to you, what lifts you, connects you, inspires you, and heals you, and build a playlist for your life.