Musical Meditation

First signs of winter in Wyoming. Photo: Whitney McNees

November 9, 2011

I’ve never been very good at meditating. Whatever “good at meditating” means anyway. However, on this trip, I seem to be finding all kinds of unique ways of meditating that work for me.

We’ve all had it happen to us. We hear a song that brings us back to a moment, but how often do you sit and listen to the song all the way through and remain in that moment? I think it’s safe to say
that most of us in our busy lives zoom briefly back to that first drive with all of your friends packed into your car. What about the song that you listened to right before your college athletic team won league championships? How long do we really give ourselves to relish in these nostalgic feelings before snapping back to what we were doing?

It happened to me today. I had the pleasure of being on the receiving end of a massage from Mat's sister Jennie. While on the table I suddenly heard the soft sweet sounds of George Winston on the piano. I was brought back to New Jersey, sitting on my dad’s lap by the fire with hot chocolate, a snow-covered backyard, and the smell of mom’s chili and cornbread permeating the entire house. Instead of having to zip back to the present, I was able to lie there and remain in my childhood for the entire song. The next time you hear one of these tunes, I highly recommend remaining in whatever time warp it brings you to for as long as you can.

I don’t get to see my dad too often these days. Next time I do, I’ll be sure to get mom's chili and cornbread recipe, sit down on a snowy day with dad and listen to Mr. Winston tickle the keys of the piano.