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Music Memories
A Magical Tool for Getting Unstuck.
I love writing, but I’ve been wrestling with topics that will help me find my rhythms and voice again. When I need to work through sticky stuff, I like to reach into my “Mary Poppins Bag” of tools and see what I’ve got to help get me through. I often land on music. Music. Albums. Songs. Memories.
Music has the most incredible ability to transport me to places I haven’t been in a while. Different points throughout a lifetime, memories tucked away and nearly forgotten. You’re casually going about your every day, and suddenly, a song comes on. It’s like magic. You’re back where song and moment became linked in your brain for the rest of your lasting memory.
In an experimental gratitude project I did to help pry me free of my writing “stuck” before, I wrote a post about my friend Mike which included a link to a song. This song was from a mix tape Mike had made for me to listen to when I ran. I played that mix tape when I ran my first marathon in 2003. This song took me back there. When I heard it, I was there again—running 26.2 miles through the gorgeous landscapes of St. George, Utah, feeling life and air and sunlight.
I mentioned on Twitter a song on Spotify’s Daily Mix bringing back childhood memories, dancing with my sister to my mom’s records. This response from a dear friend…
