Listen to what speaks to our soul every day.

July 24, 2022

It is summertime here in Oklahoma. This usually means extremely hot temperatures, thunderstorms, and the occasional tornado watch. Living here most of my life, this is normal.

The days when it is too hot to be outside requires creativity when being stuck inside.

Bead work, wired jewelry, painting, drawing, or writing is how I spend my time. The one staple during these times, while in creative mode, is music.

I was having a recent discussion with my eldest son about music and my thoughts went back to when music became the constant in my daily life.

I grew up in rural Oklahoma and the music back then was on the radio. Living in the country meant we did not have very many choices as it pertained to radio stations. Gospel, country, and the occasional classical station is what I knew. This changed when I moved to a larger city when I was 13 to 14 years old.

That was the year I discovered pop music. It was the mid eighty’s when big hair bands, Madonna, and many one hit wonders were on the airwaves. At that point, I was still a newbie to music and had not developed a particular genre or sound that I liked. I remember feeling overwhelmed by all the choices.

The early nineties was my young adulthood. It was the time of Nirvana, Green Day, and club music. I was still trying to figure out who I was, and most of my memories are tied to music from those time periods

After becoming a parent, my tendency towards music changed to what I thought my children should be listening to and consisted of the billboard top forty, Disney channel singers, and classical music for concentration.

As we grew as a family and time moved on, they developed their own tastes in music, which is very eclectic. Their playlists consist of artists from all over the world. I still have not developed my own personal preferences.

Music has become the one thing to soothe my soul on difficult days. My Spotify playlists tend to include a variety of songs that reflect what I was feeling at the time they were created.

If the thoughts are heavy, remembering past relationships or failures, the music choices are these sad, sappy, woe is me type of songs. Songs professing love and devotion or heartbreak and feelings of loss. Most of the time, I delete the playlist once the feelings have passed. I try not to dwell for too long on things that I cannot change.

If I am feeling like that strong-willed woman that was headstrong, pushy, and a go getter, the music is from other strong women who speak to those parts of my soul. I tend to play those quite often.

If I want to capture what I see as the ideal seasonal playlist then the sound is going to be lighthearted, sing aloud type of music. Music that makes you want to get up and dance. Music for a fun time.

If I need to focus on the tasks at hand then music is less noisy, acoustic, and sometimes filled with classical instruments such as violins, pianos, or guitars. Music that can play in the background and does not interfere with the things that I need to complete. This helps with the creative process for me.

Recently, I have been trying to capture the Indigenous side of who I am. The playlists of other Indigenous artists filled with drums and songs in their languages. I remember the songs my grandparents would sing, and these songs bring back those memories. These have been great to listen to while doing my beadwork.

There is so much music out there in the world that is still yet to be listened to. I do not have one preference over another. It could be a hit from the summer of 1971 or a recently released song from a K-pop group that I overheard from one of my kid’s playlists.

The world is full of beautiful music that reflects who we are as individuals and communities. The music, words, melody, and beat tell the story of who we are.

We should stop, take time, and listen to what speaks to our soul every day.

Thank you for stopping by.

Have a wonderful week!

Peace, love, happiness, music, and good vibes, always.

Suzanne