Reflections During COVID-19 and How Music Brought Me Joy

As I ponder what the new year will bring, I look forward to a better year because of the retrospective thought that 2020 and COVID caused me to undertake. 2020 was tough in some ways as freedom of movement was curtailed immensely. Some people arbitrarily and capriciously lost their livelihood. The awful, elected officials used varied excuses to control their subjects and spread scientific falsehoods. Oh well, it caused me to think about me, my family and life in general. I truly believe this was a WONDERFUL and extremely worthwhile thing to do.

I thought about my wife and our dogs, my daughters, grandkids, extended family and friends, my possessions, and earthly things, and finally art and music. When I thought I was done I truly realized I had only started my reflections.

Overall, I have had a wonderful life so far. Any life has ups and downs and so has mine. I will not go into the tragedies in my life as most are personal, but the joys are numerous, and I will share some.

My wife, Lorie is an independent, strong, sometimes challenging woman with a huge heart and the desire to protect me from myself and sometimes others. But boy oh boy do these traits work for me. Along with our small dogs, which are fun, wonderful, and easy to travel with, we have an amazing life together.

But if being locked up during COVID-19 has taught me anything, I have way too many material things in my life right now. I am working on divesting some of them and, on a very small scale adding more things in specific categories. Cars, watches, motorcycles, and other things need to go. I am adding updated stereo components within a defined budget. I will come back to the music later.

I need to schedule and book new experiences. Being with family members, friends, and seeing new vistas add to the meaningful aspects of life. These interactions are invaluable and cannot be taken from one’s memories. They are also much more important than material objects and possessions which can only lead to the phrase, “he who dies with the most toys wins”. What an atrocious way to gauge life.

So, hardships can cause great introspection to take place. COVID-19 and its minions of political hacks and bureaucrats are still not my friends, but I look at them with a different perspective than I used to. Let us not dwell on the political and media chaos that has surrounded 2020. I would rather write about music.

A lot of experiences bring joy and special memories to the art of living. A wonderful interchange with a special person, family member, or friends, a delicious bottle of wine, a great cocktail, a fine meal, or a good cigar is just a few things that bring me joy. What these things have in common is music. You always have music in the background of your life and can repeatedly visit the memory by simply listening to the music again.

Because of my renewed interest in stereo equipment and music, I was re-arranging my records when I stumbled across a Coe College LP from 1971. What amazed me is that LP is now 50 years old. Yes, I sang in that choir.

I cleaned the record, put it on the turntable, and listened. The recording itself was pretty good. The music was by and large pretty good. One piece, however, was a modern piece for organ, choir, and electronic tape. I did not like it then and now it was even worse. But I was still knocked off my feet that the music was truly 50 YEARS OLD.

That started a search through other records to see how old they were and a long listening session. The real point however is that the music flooded my senses and made me weep.

We have a wonderful country with wonderful people but what has happened is horrifying. Chalk it up to the lying politicians, yes on both sides of the aisle, social media, the CCP with its total lack of human rights and anything else you want to point a finger at. Just remember when you point that finger wherever you have three pointing at you.

The final reflective thought is just very simple…just LISTEN TO THE MUSIC.

This sounds so trite but maybe, just maybe you should try it.