Drinking in the Music with Your Body

Music is the world. All of the world around us is sound. All of it forms a music, although we may not hear it unless we tap into it. It is in the quiet rhythm of a rainstorm. It is in the wind that moves through the trees and rocks. It is in the crackling of a fire as it reaches through the wood and builds to a roar, then settles into the glow of embers. It is the water that runs in a stream. The relaxing, enchanting sound of these elements moving through a natural course, drawing our ears into the patterns, be they subtle, and soothing or loud and exciting.

That is why sometimes I can feel comfortable just listening with no sound system on. It is also why sometimes a recording that establishes gentle rhythms and sweet sounds creates an environment conducive to a peaceful evening or a graceful awakening, where another music might bring forth an edgy feeling, or a nervousness, an anxiousness, while others simply make you feel like dancing or singing.

There is a kind of music for every kind of feeling. As our tastes change over the years, we come to prefer one or another, even though in the past we may have chosen differently.

When we are doing something that establishes its own rhythm, a task we are doing, music can help create a harmonious groove that supports that work and makes everything feel efficient. Work becomes a dance with the right choice in music.

When preparing for something that requires concentration or enhances a mood, the choice in sound makes all the difference. It can help create a good mood or destroy it.

When you notice the rhythms of your body, can you hear the music you make? When you notice your choices in music, do you notice what that is reflecting back to you? If you make your own music, or if you play a drum, can you feel what is coming through besides the beats or notes?

Can you hear what you are creating? Every breath is orchestrated, every movement is synchronized with something. Are you aware of what that something is? When you choose to drink in a sound and savor it, are you aware of how it is affecting you?

Listen. There is magic in the air. Can you hear it?