Musical Props

I just posted a video on my Instagram page telling all who watch it to check out my blog. Eek. Why would I do that? This is the girl who got the lowest F possible in speech class in high school because she had such a hard time speaking in front of people. Again, why would I put a video out there?!

I did it because I feel like I’m at a place in my journey where I feel comfortable sharing it with anyone who cares to read it. Like my last post here I let myself be vulnerable in hopes that maybe I can help someone. It doesn’t matter to me who it is, I just want to help in anyway that I can.

Last week I went to a concert and that’s not out of the ordinary for me as music has been my savior for the last 10 years of my life. It always has been but it’s really helped save my life and give me the courage to get my story out there. I would say I have a concert addiction, and an even more addiction of trying to meet the bands. Not as a groupie, not at all. But as someone who listens to their music and the lyrics and place them in my life and my feelings and how they speak to me. Only in the last year or so have I really gotten to actually speak to some of the bands that have helped me through this journey I’ve been on and only once or twice have I gotten to tell them just how much of what they do does for me.

I have two examples that I want to share to help explain just what music does for my life. The first is the band Seether, this band was one of those that helped me express how I felt most of my life without having to actually express it and showed me that it’s not bad and it can get better. They helped me express my pain so that I could move past it all, then my brother took his life. A couple years after he died I was reading about Seether and I learned that Shaun Morgan had also lost his brother to suicide two years before I lost mine. Their music meant something completely different to me after that and that’s not a bad thing, it just had a more profound feeling. I have read about Shaun’s work with mental heath and the Rise Above Fest he does for suicide awareness and it’s so touching. His work is immense and I have great respect for him. I finally got to meet him this summer and I found a tiny bit of courage to tell him that I had read his article in Psychology Today and how his music saved my life and I really appreciated all that he does. He told me his music saves his life too. I only had about 30 seconds to speak so I didn’t get to tell him what I wanted but I got to tell him something and that was enough for me.

Last week I met the bass player for the band I just saw, such a great guy he was. This band I’ve seen 5 times now but the first I’ve actually met any of them. He and I actually hung out and got to talk candidly which was really cool, he was young, around my oldest son’s age. He told me he lost his brother to suicide just 3 months before and I could tell he’s still very sad and very lost without his brother. Every night he goes out on stage and plays his heart out for people like us that listen to those lyrics and that music and we feel it. Music is the most powerful thing out there as most can find some kind of meaning in the lyrics, some kind of relation.

I have mad respect for the members of bands out there that have to try to deal with their own personal demons while still entertaining all of us snowflakes out here. At the concert last week the singer pointed out a fan in the audience who was suffering from cancer, for the 3rd time I believe. He talked about how much she loved them and how they get her from day to day and then he let us all know it was because of the fans that they do what they do. To hear our stories of what their music does to us seemed to be the most touching thing I’ve ever heard and it’s so true. I think we feed off of knowing somehow we helped someone, I know when someone tells me it was because of what I did that made them smile or have a great day or something positive like that just makes me glow.

We should all find our passions and use them to change the world. Not use others to change our own world.

P.S. (….. I didn’t mention the name of the second band because I didn’t tell them I was writing this so it was out of respect. I did mention Seether and Shaun Morgan as what I did write can be googled and verified and I was a part of a promotional meet and greet. My experience last week was private outside of the show and I’m not sure how I would feel if the shoes were on the other feet…. I’m about respect. I will ask him though if he minds his name being mentioned and will update if needed.)

 

 

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