Gratitude: Music and Writing

This week the two things I am grateful for are things that have impacted my life in so many ways.  They have been used as a means of expression, healing, and continue to add to my life as a whole.  And like many of the things I am grateful for each week, they are things that I often have overlooked.

This week I am grateful for music.  In the last year my musical tastes have changed quite a bit and I found myself not listening to music as much as I have in the past.  This week however, I was reminded of the impact music has had on my life.  I tend to listen to music based on my current mood or sometimes as a way to invoke a sense of relaxation and my musical tastes depend on those moods.  This week however, I started listening to artists I listened to many years ago and was instantly reminded of the circumstances I was going through when a certain CD was on repeat.  It is amazing how quickly I am brought back to specific moment in time through the lyrics of a particular song.

I am also grateful for music because for almost 15 years I used it as a means of expression through dance, and a means of creation as I choreographed specific pieces for groups I worked with.  For a long time music and dance was my life.  I was always listening to a song through the ears of an artist, seeing the choreography appear in my mind’s eye.  It was (and still is, though right now it lies dormant), such a large part of my life and without music and dance, I am not sure where I would be.  My love for music has been renewed this week and I am so grateful for all that it has done for me over the years and I hope to create many more memories that I can later recall through music.

The other thing I am grateful for is my writing.  Much like music, writing has always been a part of my life, though early on in life, I had no idea that it would be something I wanted to do.  Looking back, I always excelled in English, as I found it easy to express myself through the written word, and can remember how proud I was in Middle School, when one of my pieces was published in our local paper.  As the years passed, my writing would ebb and flow.  Sometimes I would write poetry, sometimes I would simply keep a journal, but looking back on it now, I realize my writing was a means of healing for me.  Since then my writing has evolved and I suspect it will continue to change over time, and as it does I will remain grateful for this wonderful means of expression.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!