What do you do when you have friends over? You play music. What do you do when someone you love dies? You play music. What do you do when you find the love of your life? You play music. What do you do when you want to worship God, but your words seem to fail you? You play music. You can literally play music for every single mood that you can think of. Music changes your life. It is always around you, and most of the time we don't pay attention to the message of the songs that are in our lives, but when you let it sink into your soul (unless you're a ginger, sorry), it changes you. It speaks to you on a level so deep that it hits your core and resonates in a place that you didn't know existed. Music can help us to remember who we are to God and realize our eternal worth. Music can tell someone just how much we love them. Music can make us miss someone so deeply that we ache.
I think the reason that we surround ourselves with music is because we have had it with us forever. I truly believe that music is an eternal principle. When the Baby Jesus was born, his birth was heralded to the shepherds by "a multitude of heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:13-14) The best way to share the birth of the Savior of the world was with singing. The best sermons are in the hymns we sing. Music is where I learned that "I Am a Child of God", that "I Need Thee Every Hour," that "I'll Go Where You Want Me to Go." (These can be found in the LDS Hymnbook)
Some people are concerned when I tell them that I sing all the time, that I love singing in front of people. I think it's because I'm not exactly a terrible speaker, but because other people's words are normally better than mine. When connected to a tune and a beat, those words can speak so much more powerfully and deeper than I ever could. It has been proven that music actually completely bypasses the conscious mind and taps into the subconscious. That's why lyrics can stay in our mind for years after any schooling we ever had. It is something that connects itself to memories, and, so vivid are those memories, that they stick with us and can even bring us to tears. For years, I couldn't get through "I Stand All Amazed" (LDS Hymns 193) without thinking of my Grandma Haws and crying. It still happens sometimes.
Remember, when you listen to music, how deep the impact is. If songs can last for years, it can be those songs that have negative connotations that stick with us. Do we really want to think about all the words to those degrading songs when we are trying to stay pure and virtuous? Do we want to worry about angry songs coming up when we are fighting with those we love? Do we want to think about these things while trying to raise our children to be upstanding people? I'm not saying we are perfect. Heaven knows I'm not. And I'm not trying to push my opinions on you either. Just think about these things. Music can make or break anything. It can make an experience memorable, or horrifying.
Be Happy, and listen to music!
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