Take You Away

As usual on any given night, Lisa usually turns in somewhere between 9 and 10 o’clock. And last night wasn’t any different, when Lisa turns onto her side, the TV goes off, and the lights go out. Meaning rather I like it or not, my day is through. So usually about an hour before she hits the bed, I get my earbuds out and switch my phone over to a music app. And while she quickly drifts off to sleep, I turn off the outside noise and let the music take me away.

For over 20 years I was a practicing musician. But about the time of my initial mental breakdown I stopped playing music. Then and for a good ten year stretch afterwards I quit listening to music all together. It wasn’t until a major shift in my mental health treatment and medication did I ever regained my appreciation for music, let alone being able to deal with own emotions. But that’s a story for another day. So while my physical ability to play music is all but gone, there’s nothing more that makes my heart soar then listening to music.

Tonight’s music centers around the pianists Hiromi Uehara and a number of other famed musicians with whom she has worked. I definitely recommend checking her out. But my point here to the love I had for music and art that I nearly lost. The gift of creativity has always been a saving grace for my soul. Especially in the early years of my life, when I didn’t understand the inner turmoil that was building. I’m sure some of you won’t understand what it is I’m talking about, but most of you will. That in life we all need that way of escape. Rather it’s through a form of art, or ministry, or the tilling of the soil; we need a place of creative focus. Cognitive thinking demands creative thought. So don’t let your creative passions wither away like so many faded dreams. Embrace your creativity and let it take you away.