In recent years I’ve not been listening to music as constantly as I once did. Some of the songs in my possession (on tape, record or CD) haven’t breezed past my ears since I was in my 20s or younger. Playing these songs now makes me feel as though I’m tapping into myself as I used to be – it’s a strange feeling, and curiously strengthening.
You remember calmer, slower days and nights, family all around you. You remember belief in a saner, more rational world. You were convinced then that people really cared about others; that they played by the rules and took their time. Those were the days when you completed tasks one after the other in logical order without panicking, and everything from Swingball to business letters was a novelty.
The world around you was pure and light and yet full of depth. It was blue sky, a summer breeze and the promise of more beyond the sunset. Life didn’t seem to hurry past the way it does now. The music slowed it down – you played the same songs time after time, and they were as vibrant as they ever were.
You read all the books and believed them – about chivalry and romance, fairies at the bottom of the garden and magic rings. You judged that life would be pure gold.
In later years you wake… as though from a sleep of a hundred years. There are briars growing over everything and cobwebs in the corners. You are still looking for the gold, wondering. Things seem darker than they did before. Many of the people around you have gone – a few miles away, or an eternity. There is little that’s new or original, and the dull metal of modern society is showing through the gilt.
Only the music stays the same.
Comments for this entry (during its previous life on Blogigo):
1. Pacian wrote at Sep 13, 2007 at 15:12:
😦
(Did you know that there’s a minimum comment length on Blogigo?)
2. geosomin wrote at Sep 13, 2007 at 16:20: I’m still striving for the golden dreams…I just can’t let them go yet. I’ve been told it happens as you get older, yet I’m trying to keep it at bay indefinitely. I can hear it scratching at the door. Perhaps I’m too optimistic, but I just have to try to fight it – it’s a big part of who I am and I still refuse to grow up. 🙂
Oddly enough – music is a big part of it.
It strengthens the soul like nothing else..
I hope you have a good day.
3. Diddums wrote at Sep 13, 2007 at 17:43: Yes, I’ve been tripped up by the minimum comment length too – rather annoying.
Music is a lifeline :-). Was thinking yesterday it’s a little more ambient here than it was at my house – there’s something more peaceful. The trees are right outside (I’m face to face with the leaves, rather than looking up at them) and people don’t scurry past my window. Environment counts for a lot too.
Aw Diddums 