Making My Life a Little Better (Day 6)

Plato is credited with saying, “Music gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”  This past weekend, as I was preparing to do some work, I plugged in my headphones, cranked up my music, and got to work.  As I did so, I realized how much music is a part of my day.

Today’s Word of the Day:

Music.

Like the quote attributed to Plato, I have recognized throughout the years that my life functions much better with music.  My taste in music changes every few years, but there is always music being played in my life.

Growing up, my parents always had their radios tuned to Oldies.  We also had classical music playing on the cassette players.  As a young child, perhaps my favorite music was a music series featuring Psalty, the original singing songbook – and, the precursor to Barney and Friends, with a Christian instead of secular message.  You can still order cd’s of his music here.

During my teenage angst years, I took a liking to rap – specifically Eminem.  I eschewed oldies and classical.  Rap had the ability to touch my soul right where it needed – the music and angry lyrics helped soothe my anger and disappointment toward my fellow humans in a way that I still find difficult to describe.

Toward the latter part of my teenage years, and well into my adulthood, I found a love for country music.  It spoke, and still does, to my patriotic side and as clichéd as it sounds, to my love for God, family, and country.

A couple years ago, I was introduced to my latest genre obsession, after hearing one of the artists provide musical accompaniment to a Catholic women’s conference in Northern Virginia.  Marie Miller, who can boast having sung for the Pope during his visit to the U.S., introduced me to the Christian genre in a whole new light.  Since then, I also credit The Voice (from Italy) with bringing Sister Cristina onto my playlist, a MOPS group for adding Casting Crowns, and a fellow CWOC member with bringing Matt Maher to my attention.

Lately, I have begun appreciating just how much I rely on my music to get through my day.  I use my music to be the most productive version of myself – to make sure the house gets cleaned, to make sure the children are entertained, to make sure dinner gets made, and to make sure my mental energy is raring to go!  For me, music is as much a part of my soul as my faith.  It helps to enhance my faith, by increasing time spent praising the Lord via song, and music brings beauty to my life.

So, what about you?  Is there a genre you prefer, or an artist?  What is on your go-to playlist?