Soul Soothing

A few weeks back a dear friend of mine posted a facebook status acknowledging music's ability to soothe the soul. The last few weeks in my classes we've been discussing objectivity and whether as a counselor we should be objective, or whether anybody truly has the ability to be objective. Hard as we may try at times to remove bias from our interactions, do we really succeed? We are all people with different backgrounds, cultures, and life experiences, and we carry with us these assumptions about people, many at an unconscious level, so to try and remove everything our life experiences have taught us is a daunting task, and why would we want to do that?

I go off on this tangent to say that while I wish music were an objective and truthful way to soothe the soul, it's not. I have no idea what makes it soul soothing for me but perhaps it's not that way for someone else. However, I hope all people can find comfort in something the way I find it in music.

I love most all music, but most all of it would not fit into my construction of what it means to be soothing, especially to the soul. There's music that soothes my heart, most of which has lyrics; then there's' music that soothes my itch to dance, move around, and release energy, and that usually has a great beat; then there's music that soothes my soul, and music of that caliber is usually composed by Ludovico Einaudi.

Einaudi's music was introduced to me in the fall of 2008 by Fr. Bob, my piano professor at the time, and it came in the form of I giorni (the days). It is the one piece I can credit for my discovery of my ability to communicate through music. I hardly ever play it the same, and it's always influenced by how I'm feeling and what I am trying to let out through my music. Donald E. Michel once wrote "Some say that music goes beyond other forms of communication, that if speech were sufficient for man, music would never have been invented." I read that while writing a research paper a few years ago and knew it was true, but I never felt it until I giorni came along. Now, while I still typically resort just to I giorni for communicating from my soul, I listen to many of Einaudi's other pieces for piano and strings to communicate to my soul.

Picture this: Sitting in a library at a study table near a window. It just so happens the window overlooks a beautiful lake, and Einaudi's "Le Onde" begins playing (check out www.grooveshark.com if you wish for an audio of this moment). You know how there are some moments in time that stand still and you feel completely at peace? This was one of those moments. It happened a few weeks ago. Today I sit here listening to the music of Einaudi once again while struggling to focus on my readings for class this afternoon. All I need is to lose myself in his music for a second, to close my eyes and let the melodies weave throughout me, and I can feel at peace. My soul has been soothed. Thank you, my dear Einaudi.