Have you ever heard a song and been transported (in your mind) through time and space? The tendrils of those notes captivate your memory forever and draw you back. Emotions associated with that song float around your being, as they will for your entire life. How do these moments get imprinted on your soul intertwined with music that never dies? I can’t claim to know any scientific information about why this happens, only that it does happen.

First loves, super awesome nights at the club, break-up songs, prom, a song from a perfect moment… whatever song is attached to those moments forever echo in your mind. The experience stays in that studio in your head, just waiting to be reanimated when you hear the song. No matter how long it is since the experience, it reanimates the emotions associated with it. Crazy, cool, huh?

Sometimes, a song swirls me down into pathos, and I swim in the seas full of angst and darkness from my youth. When it passes, I am reminded of how I have grown, and the pleasure I take living on an even keel. “Hello, darkness, my old friend…,” lets me visit the past without having to stay there. I am whole and made up of many musical moments embedded in my psyche. The sad, the angry, the painful, the exhilarating moments of my life—all represented by songs.

Why did I feel a need to write about music now? Something that’s so important, and powerful, in my life had to take a backseat during the pandemic. I am looking forward to making music dates, for concerts and local performances, very soon. I have family and friends who perform, and their lives have been affected. But as with anything that is a part of yourself, their musicality was just lying in wait to be able to be expressed again. I want to make new associations with songs, and fill my life with emotions. The good, the bad, and the ugly, but feeling them are what make me feel alive. So, my wish for all of you as we slowly come out of this pandemic, is to keep your heart and mind open to enjoying your future through music, as you continue to carry the weight of songs past.