The healing power of music
Earlier this summer, we heard about North Carolina student Megan Faircloth, who despite being homeless during her junior and part of her senior year and living in a car with her mother and sister, graduated at the top of her class, with a 5.25 GPA. If that doesn’t impress you, she also got a scholarship to Stanford. In her interview, she said that one of the things that got her through the tough times was Gloria Gaynor’s hit song “I Will Survive” from 1978. She listened to it anytime she had internet access, and she wrote the lyrics on her backpack, telling herself she would survive her circumstances. And now she will thrive.
Music has more power than you know. I am sure that many of us have our own inspirational songs. When we can find a tune that lifts our mood or deeply touches us, it’s a wonderful moment that can aid in healing most things that life throws at us. When I was growing up, I had two things to play with: music or the great outdoors, and I still love them both.
I have been a musician ever since I can remember. We had a piano, and I enjoyed playing but hated lessons. I got my first guitar when I was 10, and by 13, I was playing at the local pizza place. I toured, wrote and spent much of my twenties in a recording studio. Yes, I decided to change my path, but I’ve continued playing. It has been so much a part of my life that I think I started to take it for granted.
I thought I’d play forever, but recently I was in a car accident, sideswiped on the freeway in broad daylight by a guy who fell asleep at the wheel. My hands and wrists took most of the hit because I was really trying to hold the car in the lane. And now I can’t play music or even cut my own steak. I should be OK, but it’s going to be a few more months before I can return to my hobby — or is it my solace?
One thing I can say for sure is that music has been a lifelong friend, and I’m not alone. Music inspired millions of baby boomers to change the world for the better. Our generation had our tunes to communicate our true feelings, and it got most of us to the same place. Long before Facebook, music was our way of protesting, making love and connecting with our peers.
It’s never too late to bring music into your life or to get the joy that comes with it. So the next time you are feeling a little lost, put on your favorite tune and let it move you. I promise you will feel better.
Dr. Barton Goldsmith, a psychotherapist in Westlake Village, Calif., is the author of “The Happy Couple: How To Make Happiness a Habit One Little Loving Thing at a Time.”