Just like anyone else, I am often asked about what I am into. Instinctively, I answer “music.”
Oh great. Everyone likes music, way to make yourself stand out as interesting.
That legitimate objection aside, I say this because music is an intrinsic part of my identity, and my experience and expression in life. It’s literally the current that runs through my head and helps me understand and conceptualize my thoughts and feelings, and the happenings in my life.
In addition the hundreds of vinyl records I possess simply because some psychological drive is satisfied by my buying and owning it, I make it a point to attend as many live shows of artists whose material I appreciate as I can. People who know me during normal life would hardly recognize me at a concert.
There is simply something so incredibly life-affirming about it for me, and I’m not the only one.
It’s the intensity of the moment, the rawness and purity of the experience. Whether its smashing bodies with complete strangers in a wild mosh, dancing and moving your hips to something more groove-able, or entering a trance-like state from the cascade of sound washing over you, live music can induce a heightened sense of being that a tragically small number of people ever experience.
I remember riding the subway into New York City last year. I was alone, and I was depressed, anxious, and angry. Just in general, at life during that time, not particularly because of that specific day. I rotated through these emotions, but gloom was the main flavor. I was on my way to see a band called Have A Nice Life. My musical knowledge is fairly wide, but this act will give you some of the most soul-crushing music that has even been created, bar none. Fitting.
Though I was just silently standing among a small crowd of strangers before it began, I assimilated into the greater whole once the music hit.
We moshed, screamed, sang, laughed, cried, and sometimes just became delirious with emotion. All of it.
Yelling suicidal statements (lyrics) at the top of my lungs is probably nothing most therapists would recommend. Yet I found it to be so energizing, life-affirming, and triumphant. Cathartic, like blasting out a pain that simply could not otherwise be alleviated. The connection with others was key too. Even though I did not know them, I knew what they thought and felt, and it’s rare to ever be able to say that. I left feeling amazing, and I certainly did not enter that way.
I am motivated and inspired by many things. It never has to just be a poignant quote, though I admit to loving them too. I, and you, can draw inspiration from everything. The music we listen to, the conversations we have with others, the digital fiction we watch, the things we see while driving down the highway. There are ways to get fired up about life, and people seldom explore them all.
My advice, find music you love, and see it live. Do whatever you have to do to cast your reservations aside, surrender to the music, and let your mind and body flow and respond to the moment as it wants. Connect with it and act on it.
Then, you might find that a spark for living emerges from a place you never noticed before.
-Alex