music and the power to heal
music has an undeniable power to heal.
the riff of an electric guitar in a favorite song that you share with a loved one,
can feel like it’s playing out of your body right on your heart strings.
with music, time travel is even possible.
a familiar melody associated with a special place or moment in time,
can transport your heart and soul to that familiar place, stored deep in your memory bank,
ignited with a few unforgettable chords.
music is magic.
“music is a living language that communicates without words. the music carries and accompanies us into the unknown and helps release our fears and attachments. it provides us with beauty, warmth, light, and hints that we are not alone.”
music connects us to one another. it creates invisible bonds that can be seen, heard and felt with the heart.
music can tell a story about who you are, just like having a sense of style.
basically, music is pretty much one of the coolest things we know (next to vintage clothing).
so we’ve created a compilation of some of the coolest music we know, to share and connect with you.
playlists created for your life, your story. made ready for you here via spotify.
as i am writing this now, the album roll the bones by rush is playing in the background. i thought i would never be able to listen to this album again, or at least not for a long time. rush was one of my dad’s favorite bands, and this album was a CD we played on repeat for him during his last days of life in the hospital, and eventually at hospice. songs i never gave too much thought to listen to before. then hearing and feeling them play out for my dad during his last days and seeing how much comfort they brought him, touched my heart.
i really listened to the lyrics, and realized how much my dad connected to these words and at the same time, how much i connected with them as well. almost like i discovered a new part of our undeniable connection as father and daughter. a beautiful reminder of how much we are alike which came at such a significant moment in time.
after his passing, the idea of listening to this album or any song for that matter by rush felt almost haunting, as if it would be a cruel reminder of the pain wrapped up in those last days. now in time, i’ve learned to accept and instead of viewing it as painful, i view it as an incredible gift full of hope, glory, love, strength and truth of the unbreakable bond of family.
but a few weeks after my dad’s passing i kept grappling with the idea of listening to this album again.
scared in a sense that it would bring me to tears to a place of despair.
hopeful in a sense that i would remember my dad in a beautiful way.
dealing with this battle in myself, stuck in this black and white thinking, music from rush unexpectedly came through for me, in a sign i believe was sent from my dad.
i had ventured out into the world again and it was a day i was doing things i loved. things that were normal for me, and made me feel a little bit like myself again. i was grabbing some coffee at a new bakery on bahnhofstrasse in zürich while taking a break from shopping the flea market at bürkliplatz. on the eclectic genre playlist that the bakery was playing, suddenly a song by rush, out of all the songs that could play at that very moment, came blasting through. i just stopped and smiled to myself. for me, it was my dad communicating with me from the other side telling me i am doing exactly what i need to do in getting back to myself, that i am making steps in the right direction and that he is still very much here with me. all is well. and this isn’t the only instance my dad has come through to me in music. he continues to communicate with me in different ways through music, all the time.
since the message that came through on that day at the bakery, i’ve been able to listen to rush and the roll the bones album that i thought i would never be able to listen to again. my favorite song from the album is “big wheel”, which somehow i feel resonates so deeply with how i view life, so much in my life and experience that has happened, especially this year and with my dad. a few lines of lyrics sums up so much for me.
“wheel goes 'round, landing on a twist of faith
taking your chances you'll have the right answers
when the final judgment begins
wheel goes 'round, landing on a leap of fate
life redirected in ways unexpected
sometimes the odd number wins
the way the big wheel spins”
i won’t deny that there are moments where a particular riff of the guitar in a song that reminds me of my dad seems to feel like the notes are playing out right there on my heart strings and brings me to a place of rolling tears. yet i also can’t deny that there are moments where the beat of a song seems to beat right in tandem with the beat of my heart and lifts it to a place of rejoice, where i imagine my dad jamming, dancing, smiling, happy, and sometimes i imagine i am there dancing with him. sometimes, i even turn the volume up to the max and just dance with myself.
there is such healing in this that it is truly therapeutic. allowing something to take over your heart and soul in such a powerful way. it repairs, it remedies, it resolves.
my dad was a talented musician. so, it makes sense that a love for music has and always will play an important role in my life. it seems like it runs through my veins and i feel it to a deep level.
my dad was a talented musician.
so, it makes sense that a love for music has and always will play an important role in my life.
i can’t imagine a life without music. music is the soundtrack to our lives, to our stories. music helps put into words so often the very things that mere words can’t seem to quite achieve. a communication tool of sorts, to say the things that seem impossible. to even perhaps achieve the scientifically impossible. to communicate across worlds, to the other side, to a departed loved one. music makes the impossible, possible.
thank you for being here and seeing with me,
candice
“music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent.”
