The Love Song

Music is the food of soul"- Anonymous.

Well said!! But also food for thought!

If we begin to think how much time we spend listening to music, one would be surprised. As per various studies an average human listens to music for 1-2 hours per day, which amounts to 3-5 years of one's life. So, shouldn't we all be conscious of what we are feeding to the soul?

Let that sink in.

The life as such is drowned in sound. And it's the sounds we like, become music to our ears while the rest becomes noise. Now let's pay attention to the fact that not all that we listen to is of our choice.

From household banters to honking on a busy street. From a tuning FM in your car to a DJ from a neighbor's wedding. From birds chirping in your balcony to the sounds of rain.

Every sound has a frequency and with frequency arises an emotion. Other than our curated playlists, most sounds we listen to are beyond our control. They are just there, in the air!!

Pause & Contemplate!

After a failed marriage, I suffered a major heartache. My rather young and lost self hankered for a partner. I compared my life with the one in my dreams. The restlessness consumed me on days and hence I looked for answers.

Someone wise advised me to avoid listening to co-dependent music.

'Co-dependent music'? What's that's?

I was clueless.

She gave hints, I spoke to more people, read, dug deeper.

I found that the music which relates happiness directly to finding/having a romantic love interest is co-dependent music. Putting simply, music which lyrics on relationship goals. One that stresses on the void of not having the "other", or music that simply romanticise the glory of relationships.

Love Songs is one of the most liked genres.
Wondered why?

Love is the highest form of life. Words are not even capable of defining its truth. We have grown up listening to fairy tales with a happily-ever-after. Epitomised the flawless love stories so much so that life's ultimate goal is thought to be in love.

Our society has always overplayed this emotion.

But what's also true is,"The love we experience in relating is only a hint of its entirety".

I mulled over the concept and went into an experiment.

For a week I chose my playlist carefully.

I skipped songs that defined life as the crux of a relationship. I stayed away from a Yash Chopra movie, I did not attend the Arijit Singh concert. Ha Ha Ha!

Instead, I picked instrumentals, classical, sufi, or devotional. Songs that were based on nature or life in general.

I felt lighter during this phase. A bit more rested.

The afterthought of music didn't linger on in my mind.

There was no comparison with any imaginary story or fantasy that wasn't actually mine. I found myself more at ease. (I also realised that my mother sulked less about my status, it was those love songs that wavered my strength to walk alone).

That one week changed something within!

After all, songs are made up of words, words become our thoughts, our thoughts affect our actions and its the actions that become our reality.

Huge! Wouldn't you agree?

Would you let something change your reality? Would you care to give this a try?

In no way would anyone say that music is not good.

Infact as Friedrich Nietzsche says, "WITHOUT MUSIC, LIFE WOULD BE A MISTAKE".

We can all feel love is in the air.

Spring has taken over.

Flowers are blooming, winds are warmer, the sky is smiling, the Sun is cozy.

This season of love, let's fall in love with ourselves.

Let's free float into a space that is melodious with songs of ourselves.

This valentine, be my valentine, me my valentine!