Let's Catch Up. Music, a healing guide.
Reflecting on what rattled my senses last week. From Spotify Playlists to Songlines - music has the power to move us.
Scrolling through my Spotify playlists recently, I was struck by how perfectly they chronicle my life's journey. Each collection represents a moment when I desperately needed clarity for feelings that seemed impossible to approach. In my darkest struggles, a single song would inspire me to gather similar tunes, creating a playlist that became a lifeline.
Once complete, I'd plug into my internal stereo through the portal of white earbuds. Relief would dance inside me as my emotional turmoil found expression through the words of artists who seemed to know exactly how I felt. From a seat in the audience of my own experience, I could scream the lyrics, dance freely, or simply let the rhythm, harmony, and words transform the noise that had been consuming me into something beautiful.
I find so much peace in the power of music.
Finding my Songline: A Night Under the Full Moon
A year ago I moved to a small town in what is known as the Upper Valley. Lots of nature, access to beautiful hiking trails and the Connecticut River ribbons through separating New Hampshire from Vermont. At times it feels ridiculously isolating and, I know that loneliness is a situation we create. Last night I took advantage of the community that is a very big part of the ethos here that I’ve not connected myself to.
The family that owns Lake Morey Resort started a summer concert series during covid as a way to bring the community together and experience the power of music. Last night they hosted one of my favorite singer songwriters, Amos Lee.
It felt bold, even a little scary, to show up by myself. But once I was there, I did what my music maven Maddie always does—I "Maddied" my way right to the front, body to body with perfect strangers, just feet away from the brilliance of Amos Lee. I know why Maddie makes her way forward, ticket or no ticket. Right in front of the stage you get to feel the music the loudest. I could feel the beat of the bass vibrating between my ribs. Shaking away emotion that needed to move.
Standing there under that full moon, pieces of Amos Lee's lyrics formed a songline, capturing where I was in this thing called life:
I'm not afraid.
Keep it loose. Keep it tight.
Lately I've been thinking of all the losing I've done in love.
In the trouble, we find our way.
Give some light to compassion.
Yesterday I got lost in the circus.
I'm going to push on up.
I'm going to be alright.
I do believe in the power of love.
These weren't just random lyrics—they were a roadmap through my current emotional landscape. From uncertainty to loss, from struggle to hope, from fear to faith. The music was literally singing me through, helping me traverse the territory of transition without fully knowing the way forward, but trusting that I would find it.
We Are Walking Temples of Noise
Anne Lamott captures this perfectly when she writes that music is profoundly physical—our essential rhythm is our heartbeat, our essential sound is our breath. We become walking temples of noise, and when we add tender hearts to this mix, music somehow lets us meet in places we couldn't reach any other way.
This resonates deeply because life fills us with noise, sometimes traumatically. We silently carry the side effects of dis-ease. Scars both visible and invisible create feelings of loneliness and shame, fear of abandonment, disconnection between our physical body and mind. Our inner sparkle gets dulled by all this commotion.
When we're ready, there are many pathways to release what's trapped inside our heads. Release is integral to healing, and music offers one of the most powerful entryways.
“...music is about as physical as it gets: your essential rhythm is your heartbeat; your essential sound, the breath. We're walking temples of noise, and when you add tender hearts to this mix, it somehow lets us meet in places we couldn't get to any other way.” — Anne Lamott
Songs Are Stories: The Ancient Wisdom of Songlines
The Aboriginal Australians believe the world was sung into existence. Their stories passed through generations via songlines—paths across sacred physical and emotional landscapes, learned through repetition. By singing these songs in the proper order, it became possible to traverse vast distances across the continent without ever having known the way.
Read that again, slowly. Let it sink in.
Imagine a songline as a thread capable of weaving patterns of belief, culture, and emotion. As the songline is repeated, that world is sung into existence. This is the power of story. We sing into existence the world we repeat to ourselves.
Consider these truths:
The world is sung into existence
Stories pass through generations through songlines
Songlines are learned through repetition
It's possible to traverse vast distances without ever having known the way
Creating Your Own Foundation
I have a Spotify playlist called "Foundation"—a personal songline I formed years ago of what I wished to repeat into existence. I sang these songs out loud, danced wildly, and got to sit in the concert of my own becoming. This musical experience allowed me to traverse territory without fully knowing how to get there, but believing wholeheartedly that I will arrive. And arrive I did.
Our world is sung into existence with stories. And I am being beckoned to create a new playlist. I’m going to work on that today. Here's a snippet of the songlines I wish to sing into my new existence:
Joyful by X Ambassadors
You Make Me Feel Like Dancing by Leo Sayer
Why So Serious by Alice Merton
Windows Are Rolled Down by Amos Lee
Love the Hell Out of You by Lewis Capaldi
Awake My Soul by Mumford & Sons
You Sexy Thing by Hot Chocolate
Each song represents a thread in the tapestry of who I'm becoming. I’ll add more and call my new playlist Songline*.
Your Turn to Create
Now it's your turn. What world do you want to sing into existence? What songlines will guide you across the vast territories of your own healing and becoming?
Let the noise out. Weave your songlines into existence. Create playlists that don't just soundtrack your life, but actively shape the reality you're moving toward.
The power of music isn't just in its ability to help us process where we've been—it's in its capacity to call forth where we're going. Your playlist isn't just a collection of songs; it's a map, a prayer, a promise to yourself about the world you're creating.
What songs will you choose for your way forward?
*Feel free to connect with me on Spotify at graceisgenius to explore musical journeys together.
“I could feel the beat of the bass vibrating between my ribs. Shaking away emotion that needed to move. ” Your writing is like this, Kathy…it rattles a buried thought or desire to the surface, where I can consider it. Thank you for that!
I love this. The power of music touched so many of us. I see music as a portal to presence, to yourself and to your memory! Amazing how it can take you so many places.