Well, it’s been a bit, but life just doesn’t slow down. Finally had a little down time tonight and decided that music therapy was just what I needed. Music is an important piece of my life. I listen to music when I am having a good or bad day. I love listening to movie scores while I read a book or in this case while I write. It helps to bring ideas to my mind and let me put into words what I want to really say. It is a proven fact that listening to an upbeat song when you are in a bad mood can make a difference. For me it works both ways. Slow music doesn’t necessarily put me in a bad mood, but it will help when I need to really focus on something, or I am wanting to think something through without having outside distractions. Good music goes to my soul, it lifts me up and also has the ability to calm me down. I can hear a song that I haven’t literally heard in years, and it can take me back to a memory in an instant. When I hear a song that catches my ears, I will download it and listen to it a minimum of fifty times because I like the way it sounds or the way it makes me feel. Some people are picky about the clothes they wear, or how they choose to decorate. My music choices are eclectic in the sense that I can go from one genre to another within five songs. I hate to admit this, but I care more about how my music is arranged than the outfit that I choose to wear to work. Music has saved me on more than one occasion. It has given me the strength to get through times in my life that other humans could not even begin to touch. It has lifted me up when I needed something to look forward to. It gives me the ability to feel emotions I don’t usually feel because I get too caught up in everyday life to stop and take a mental break. I celebrate with music when something great has happened. I am that girl that will dance around the house even though I have not had decent dance moves since I was 12 years old. I am a music junkie in the car. It is an absolute must on road trips. I like to listen to what my father used to refer to as “ticket music”. Now, I know you are wondering what that is. Let me give you some insight on this. While traveling down the interstate my father would listen to songs with upbeat lyrics and as this particular song would speed up in tempo so would the speed of the car. The music had such an effect on his soul that it apparently also had an effect on his lead foot which usually ended up with the whole 20 mph over thing going on. I won’t go into details, but that man seriously was the king of B.S. when it came to getting out of tickets. But that is for a whole other post on another day. One of my only regrets when it comes to music is that I didn’t take it as seriously as I wish I would have. Thirteen years of piano and voice lessons and I still never really learned how to read music and after years of thyroid issues, I can no longer sing the way I used to. I sing, but the days of a steady voice and being in tune are long gone. So, kids if your parents are going to throw away thousands of dollars on music lessons, do yourself a favor and at least make it worth your while. Practice and practice and don’t give up. You make not realize it now, but there WILL be a time in your life when you will wish that you had really given it the dedication it deserved. Cause some days music is life. Give me all the songs that affect your life and have made a difference in the comments. Until next time. 🙂