The Sound of Music

"Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul."

Music. It has the power to speak unspoken words. It has the power to make you laugh, cry and arouse every emotion in between. It has the power to relax you and motivate you. For many, music is a source of contentment, comfort and inspiration. For others, it is whatever we desire it to be.

Music is often described as a universal language that expresses who we are. Although universal in one sense, it is also something deeply personal and intrinsic to each one of us individually. It has the ability to speak for itself and to the person listening to it. Quite often we can relate to the lyrics as though they were written especially for us, with our lives, our thoughts and our dreams taken into account. Therein lies the beauty of music. Sometimes it understands us when noone else does.

It is one of life's great escapes. For everyone there are times when you feel like the whole world is against you. The chance to escape from that reality, through the lyrics and melodies affiliated with music, is a welcome distraction. For those precious minutes you can forget, or at least try to forget, about your own worries. You can get lost in the song, lost in the beat, lost in the music.

Bob Marley was once quoted as saying the "one good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.” Wise words from a wise man. Even if you are tone deaf and have the dance moves of an old man with two left feet it doesn't matter. You can still enjoy what you are doing, the music you are singing to and the beats you are dancing to.
The earliest song I can remember prancing around to is "Stop" by the Spice Girls. Oh how I loved those girls. I wanted to be Baby Spice. I wanted her attitude, her blonde pigtails and her style (what was I thinking?!). Unfortunately, for me, there is a video of a fair-haired five-year-old standing in the kitchen belting out the words to "Stop" and dancing like noone was watching. I possessed two left feet and couldn't hold a note to save my life, yet it didn't seem to matter. The big smile across my face said it all. I was oblivious to my lack of talent in the musical department but I thought I was the bee's knees. Even though I was bad at it, it still made me happy. That's the magic of music. As J.K. Rowling so perfectly put it, music is "a magic beyond all we do here."