Sights and Smells

 We are quickly approaching the year 2020. As in I am getting old and there are a ton of "this was popular 20 years ago" articles and videos. I was entering high school in 2000. So the next 4 or so years were the most formative years of my life. Music, of course, was a huge part of this.

 This is when I really started getting into metal. As I have stated before nu metal was hugely influential to my taste in music now. It was the gateway drug if you will.

 But this post isn't about nu metal specifically.

 Rather this is about the power of music. Music has a way of sticking with you in ways nothing else can. Think about hearing a song you haven't heard in years. It can bring back memories you had long forgotten. In some cases you can smell a time and place in which that song was playing. It can remind you of exactly what emotion you were feeling at the time. Nothing can do this like music. I think we can use it to our benefit.

 For me a song like Papa Roach's Last Resort was a kind of release in my young adult years. It felt edgy, almost taboo lyrically. But it was easy to yell sing to while cruising Main Street. It made me feel like a badass. And it gave me a way to expell some of my youthful anger and rage.

 I listen to it now and get something completely different from it. I am reminded of why I loved the song in the first place. I can appreciate it's place in my life. But I'm not angry at the world for no good reason anymore. I have more perspective. More life experiences. So when I do hear the song and it throws me back in time, I think about how I felt then differently. 

 These days it's a reminder of how fragile the psyche of the mind of a youth can be. It reminds me that the struggles they perceive are real to them, weather they are factually real or not. In turn it reminds me to be a little more understanding. 

 Now don't mistake what I am saying for the idea that we should treat those with less experience with "kid gloves". There are hard truths to be learned about life. Reality should still take precident over feelings. However empathy towards an individual, their feelings, and their situation should inform how we go about approaching them.

 The power music has to make you recall emotions and the situations surrounding them, coupled with the knowledge gained through time and experience can help not only how you approach other people, but how you approach your own life.

 A song that takes you back to a time when you were happy can be used to remind you happiness is possible. Even if things feel fucked right now.

 Remember that song you listened to after every breakup? It's a reminder that you can move on and you'll be ok.

 What about the song you belted out at the top of your lungs? A reminder that things are never perfect. But you can make it through the tough times.

 I use those moments a song takes me back to reflect on where I was. Think about where I am now. Realize that things get better, they get worse, you get sad, you're happy, you feel hopeless, you feel unstoppable. But in the end it's all ok. I'm stronger and wiser than I was then. I have grown as a person. You can be better now.

 So when music does take you back. When you recall the sights and smells in your mind. Think about why that moment is important. What did you learn. Was it that joy is attainable? Was it that it's never really as bad as it seems in the moment?

 This may sound like some hippy shit. But we only have so much to work with in life. Use it all and use it to it's maximum potential.