The Random Ramblings of the Hiawatha Geek

I read this on Andrew Schwab's blog, I. need. TRUTH, today.  I really like it.

"Think back to the first time you heard your favorite band.
Remember where you were. Think back to the smells, the colors of your surroundings. Recall the feelings it conjured up, the chills on the back of your neck, running all the way down your spine. Revisit how the melody, the guitar lines, the beats infiltrated your entire being. And finally, recapture what the words meant to you, how they completed and colored the emotional picture the music traced in your heart.
The sound, the words came together to connect with you. It was first love.
And soon after this first listen, this music became a soundtrack to vivid memories. You sang along in your room, in your car, in the shower, wailing with all your voice into the universe. Those songs acompanied you to school dances, sporting events, the beginning (and sometimes the ending) of relationships, weekend parties with friends.
It was passionate, this love you had discovered. And it was from the depths of you that this music spoke in, for, and through you. It changed you. It shaped you. It was a part of you. And it touched places inside of you that were deeper than you knew existed.
Listening to music is, was, and forever shall be..spiritual. It is more than just sound. It is a part of your soul.
And it is for me, too.
When I recall the first time I heard my favorite bands, I have specific emotions attached to specific memories as well, and they take me to a warm place that always brings a smile to my face.
I frequently tell people that loving music isn’t something I do, it’s something that I am.
But I know I am not the only one who would describe my relationship with sound this way…
All of us have this mythical connection to it.
Have you ever met someone who doesn’t love music? Probably not. It is a universal language. It transcends cultural differences, language barriers, and stereotypes. It is perhaps the most powerful medium that exists. It goes beyond the physical realm into the metaphysical. It has the power to transform nations and pierce the most hardened of hearts. At its best, it can heal, inspire, and conjure up the miraculous.
But have you ever wondered why music is such a powerful, universal medium? Have you ever wondered why we love it so much, why we are so drawn to both listening to it and creating it?
It is because we were made to hear, sing, and make music.
God created us for worship.
Just think about this the next time you are bobbing your head to your favorite song in your car, your room, or your kitchen. Think about this the next time you are listening to your iPod while you vacuum or run at the gym. Think about that the next time you just have to sing along to that amazing song you hear on the radio. And think about it the next time you are fooling around with Garageband or playing your chosen instrument or performing with your band.
You were created to make music. We all were.
And every time a note comes out of your mouth, out of your soul, you are displaying evidence that God made you. Every time you appreciate a song you hear, you are displaying the thumbprint of a creator. And this creator enjoys music, too. So much so, that he wants to hear it coming from us forever. He is the inventor of music itself.
And therefore, music itself is a gift to be celebrated.
I reflect on this because I so easily forget the reason why I do what I do. I so easily fall into the trappings of an industry (and a culture) that has reduced songs to mere products to be bought and sold. I so often forget that the value of this gift that has been placed in each of us.
When I was teenager, it was music that brought me through my most dark, lonely, and angry times. As a college student, it was being a music fan first that gave me the inspiration to make my own. And as an artist, it is listening to music that pushes to me to continue creating. And it is music, as an adult, that gives my life purpose while putting food on my table.
And while some would like to make us think that music is simply an ornament for our entertainment, our hearts tell us otherwise. We listen, sing, and create because it is a link between ourselves and the almighty.
I make and love music because it is in my soul to do so. And so do you.
It is a pointer to heaven, an evidence that we were created to worship forever.
Now go, make sounds that echo into eternity…
My heart is steadfast, O God; I will sing and make music with all my soul. Psalm 108:1"

-Andrew Schwab