Friday, July 2, 2010

A New song



I think in song. Most likely every experience I have had or great memory that I cherish has a song that goes with it in my head. People that have been close to me or meant something usually have a song that I remember them by. The Talking Heads song "One in a Lifetime" reminds me of cruisin down Highway 17 from Myrtle Beach to Edisto Island in an Audi with the sun roof open on New Years day. I can still tell you who I was with and what we were talking and laughing about as we drove to Edisto to golf. "Eminence Front" by Pete Townsend reminds me of setting at a red light in Fort Wayne, Indiana when I worked as a Private Investigator and I can tell you exactly who I was with on that day. I can tell you what we were talking about and how I felt about them at that very moment. I never drive without music and usually the first thing I do in the morning is turn on music. I have been like this since I was a teenager and I am so thankful! I am always amazed at what music does to people, how it awakens them, makes them dance and have fun and even makes them break down and cry. This summer I have downloaded songs that I remember from way back that make me happy. Ive put them on different discs and given the disc funny names that make me laugh when I look at them. Its a way of conditioning myself to think and feel happy and remember the joy that I had lost for a brief moment in time. In group therapy we used to play music for the patients. I even remember one patient in particular who couldnt listen to certain songs on the radio because it made him "phene" or crave the drugs he was detoxing from. Isnt that amazing what one song can do to a person? This summer I have literally felt what it is to have a "new song" in my heart. I want that for everyone, especially recovering addicts. They've lost their purpose, their joy and the song in their heart. I'm pretty sure that as I take on this endeavor to help recovering addicts that at some point music will be a part of how I help them incorporate joy back into their lives. I think as we age a lot of people cut music out of their lives or they somehow forget to listen. Last week at the lake some guy was amazed that my daughter knew some rock and roll songs from the 70's. She told him that I raised her on 70's rock and roll. She's right! Both of my kids cut their teeth, so to speak, on Lynard Skynard, Molly Hatchet and Van Halen. I laugh when I think of that. I'll never lay that part of myself down willingly. I hope that one of the last things to go as I drift away are the songs in my heart. Because to me if I remember music, I can remember my life and all that I have experienced, all that I have loved, the places I have been, the people that I adore, and the pain that has made me stronger. I never want to loose that song in my heart.

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