Music

I was invited to be part of an honors band. I was in high school. As I recall, it was a weekend event held at Albion College. There were a few of us who went. I played the cornet. 

The event included rapidly learning a piece of symphonic music along with students from around the state of Michigan. We learned, practiced, and rehearsed.  The culmination of the event was a concert where we performed.

It has been so long ago (over 35 years ago) that I don’t exactly remember all of the details.

But I do remember the feeling. 

The performance was amazing. Sitting in the middle of the large band with some really talented musicians was an honor and a joy. In the performance the music seemed to lift me off of my chair. I remember thinking that the sound from French horns around me was close to heaven. I could feel my inner self being moved in ways that I cannot completely explain.

For a scientific mind it was one of my early tastes of the joys of the other parts of my existence. I have always found the logic of science easy. Math was truly enjoyable. It has structure and rules to it. It is reproduceable. You can follow the rules and get the same answer every time. Once you understand the principles you can get the right answer. And there is always one right answer.

Life is not always that way. There are of course parts of life that are indeed objective and reproduceable. But then there is art. And poetry. And music. And really understanding people. And the reality of living in a world that is not always black and white.

These are a lot harder for me.

As I have aged, I have come to appreciate the complexities in life. Many of us begin to say that we realize that there are multiple gradations of gray in between the black and white.  

But that is not the real truth. 

The real truth is that there are rich and vibrant colors that fill our universe. 

Of course, everything is not black and white. There are colors that I don’t even know how to name. Colors that fall somewhere in between. Colors that we don’t even know if we all experience in the same way. Colors that can invoke deep emotions – sometimes exciting, sometimes happy, sometimes sad and sometimes serene. Pastels. And bright colors. And muted colors. And quiet and subtle grays.

I still tend to be more concrete when it comes to art. I favor a good traditional landscape. And for writing I favor something logical. Poetry can baffle and frustrate me. But at least I hope to think that I am closer to knowing what I don’t know. Maybe I don’t have to find clear and concise logic within the painting or the poem or the story or the music. 

Maybe it is all about helping me understand that we are complex beings as humans. This is a far more complex universe and existence than what we can verbalize. We are not just chemicals and biological organs. There is something far more profound and deep to our existence. There are levels of complexity that cannot be explained by a scientific mind.

There is the immense joy of sitting in the middle of a symphonic band and feeling deep deep emotion welling up inside of me. The emotions are so intense that at one moment I can feel both joy in my heart and tears welling up in my eyes. And these seem to come from a place that I cannot explain. 

In that moment I understand that there is a lot more to being human than I will ever understand. In fact, there is far more to our world – to our universe – than what is obvious. 

Our good friends perform in the Grand Rapids symphony. I saw that the symphony was going to perform Holst’s “The Planets”. Like many I have always loved that symphony. The intensity of the music is strong enough that it can bring me back to what I felt sitting in the middle of the honors band at Albion College. Sarah talked with our friends and as a present to me got tickets for us to go to the performance. 

It was amazing. It once again moved me in ways that I cannot explain.

What was fun was that it did the same thing for Sarah. She was amazed by it. We walked away not sure what to say. You cannot explain it in words. All you can say is, “Wow!” 

And in that moment, you get a glimpse of how wonderful and amazing and complex our existence is. An existence which God has created with depth and beauty and complexities that go beyond our understanding. 

Do not forget music. Indulge in it. Enjoy it. Turn off the television. Go to the symphony. Sit in the middle of the auditorium and let the music wrap around you. Tone down your left (rational) brain and let the music work inside of you. Let it play with your emotions. Let it move you to places that you were not expecting or cannot rationally explain. Let it teach you about being fully human.