Music: The most powerful drug
My daughter once asked me why I spend so much time listening to music. Simply put: to feel. To live. No matter what kind of mood you are in, there is a type of music for you. It's a way to express yourself when words fail. Music brings different people together. It can create unbreakable bonds between the most unlikely of possibilities. It transcends time. It enhances conversations. It helps your mood. As a very good friend told me, music is everything. It helps you be free, mind, body, and soul.
A good song can evoke emotions and take you on a journey. It can change your whole outlook on a situation. It can steal your soul. You could hear a song from twenty years ago and it's like you're back in that moment, reliving it all over again. It's your own personal time machine. So crank up the volume and take that trip!
For some people, such as myself, music centers you. It keeps you calm when your world is in turmoil. It can take you down memory lane and evoke deep feelings. It gives you something to relate to. Music is your best friend. It understands that there are different sides of you, even those that you may not show to the world. There is no judgment. No right or wrong. Music never lets you down.
You can always count on music to understand, to relate, to make you feel better. Once you hit a rough spot in life and you turn to music to help you cope, it becomes an addiction. You crave that feeling. That escape. The distraction from your problems. Music is therapy.
I asked multiple music junkie friends of mine the same question. Why is music important? Most of them had the same reasons as I do. But one, being the awesome person that he is, gave me an answer that summed it up perfectly. One note can change your soul. I've never heard anything so true. You don't just enjoy a good song. You experience it. The lyrics touch you in a way that a conversation just can't. It makes you feel like there is someone out there who can read your mind.
With just a few lyrics, you realize you are not alone. Someone out there understands your pain, your anguish, your love, your fear, your compassion, your love for life. A good song will flow through your veins like the strongest drug. It makes you bob your head and move your feet. Your heart will race. You get light headed. It's almost like falling in love and you can't help but sing along. There have been multiple studies conducted by scientists which show that while listening to music, your body produces the chemical dopamine, which is basically our brain's way of rewarding us when we fulfill a need, such as eating, sex, or using drugs. So it is true, in fact, that music is a drug and you can experience the same feelings of euphoria, addiction, and withdrawals,
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Still not convinced? How about the fact that music is represented in almost every culture in the world and can be traced back thousands of years? It's a way to communicate. To show pride. Think of how a nation as great as the United States, which is so full of diversity because of different beliefs and races, unites over one song. It makes people cry, it makes them proud, it makes them show respect.
Even nature makes its own music. Drive out to the country on a warm summer night, shut off your truck and just listen. Crickets chirping. The gurgle of a creek. Frogs croaking for rain. The rustle of the wind through the trees. It fills you with peace. Music is everywhere if we just take the time to listen and enjoy. What makes music special to you?