Please don't stop the music....*

This morning at church I was told by the ever-direct Chris that I should update my blog, because "even Joel has found time to update his blog". Apparently the life of a doctor is the true measure of busy-ness, and as I am not a doctor, I should be able to at least match his blog updates. So with this in mind, I thought that I would write to you, dear reader, about what has been on my mind lately. Competitive blogging aside, finding out that people actually read your blog is always a nice little motivation to write more often! :)

Something that has been on my mind recently is music. Yes, I can hear your disappointed sigh from here. You were probably expecting something out of the ordinary. Anyone who knows me will understand that music frequently features in most, if not all, of my day-dreaming sessions. Most things that people say remind me of a song, and rarely a minute will pass by when I am not humming along to a song in my head. So if you are having a conversation with me and I suddenly get a faraway wistful look in my eyes, chances are that something you have said triggered a song that is now playing on repeat in my head. Now would probably be an ideal time to notify the good people at the TTH psych ward. (Just as an aside, why does 'The' feature in the acronym for our public hospital?! How silly... it makes the word 'the' seem repetitive and redundant, yet the sentence feels incomplete without it). Anywho... music is such a huge part of who I am. It is intrinsically linked to my conscious being. My arts lecturer would be proud of that sentence. I can't quite put my finger on it, but I kind of like that I have such an indefinable connection to music.

You don't have to be a music connoisseur to appreciate that music is strongly emotive. However I am struck by how the emotions that music can produce sometimes contradict the emotions embedded in the lyrics. Two songs that I really love are "Why Georgia" by John Mayer and "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman. As soon as I hear the opening riff to either of these songs I cannot keep the smile from my face. There are so many good memories attached to both of these songs, and listening to them reminds me of how I felt at those times. Although both of these songs are not exactly uplifting. Throughout "Why Georgia" John Mayer sings of frustration, discontentment and a fear that he isn't living life 'right'. Tracy Chapman in "Fast Car" tells the story of a one woman's dreams (the pursuit of a 'better life' and the desire to belong) that are brought to a halt by the heartbreaking realities of life. The tensions that are explored in both of these songs are acutely felt by many people throughout the course of their lives. Not exactly a cheery thought. Yet, because of the memories attached to these songs, they make me want to dance! Maybe I just need to pay closer attention to lyrics.....

The other music related pondering that I have been mulling over recently is the calming effect that music has on people. When I am feeling nervous about something, listening to Coldplay or Switchfoot always makes me feel better. Christian music is particularly helpful here, although that is another blog topic for another time. Recently, when I have had important and intense conversations with people, strumming quietly on the guitar seems to help to create a calm setting. It can also be a little distracting, but I am a pretty distractable person. I came across a good example of the calming quality of music this week at work with our beautiful P.I. (physical impairment) kids. A physio came in to see if we could encourage one of our little ones to stand in an upright frame for a portion of the lesson, so I was working along side her. The little girl DID NOT like the standing frame one bit! She cried and cried, the poor darlin. After trying everything to calm her down, we figured that it would be better to give the standing frame a miss a try again another day. So the physio went to work with a different client, and I was left with a thoroughly distraught little girl. Again, I tried everything I could think of to calm her down, yet nothing would work. Maybe this is an unhelpful teaching approach, but in situations like this, when none of the strategies from my 'teacher's toolbox' are working, I sometimes think about what I would do if I was the child's mother. So after about 15 minutes I unstrapped the little girl from her wheelchair and cuddled her on my knee. Whenever I was sick as a little girl, my Mum would sing "Kum By Ah" to me until I fell asleep. I always feel calm whenever I hear this song, I think that I have been conditioned to feel sleepy whenever someone sings it. So, with the little girl snuggled on my knee, I sang "Kum By Ah", over and over again. Before too long, her crying stopped and she fell into a deep sleep. She may have fell asleep simply because she had reached the point of utter exhaustion, but I like to think that "Kum By Ah" at least helped to create a calm environment. When she woke up again, she was a completely different little girl, smiling and laughing at nothing inparticular. I was exhausted, yet I couldn't help smiling at this little girl's sudden show of joy.

* The astute of you will realise that the title is a quote from a Rhianna song. Not that you would admit knowing this. I was struggling to think of a song quote that had something to do with music. Cam's suggestion was "Doh a freakin' deer", but I didn't think that it went with the tone of the blog so I settled for Rhianna. Alternative suggestions would be appreciated.