Music As The Mortar

In this world, there are endless human experiences. Endless belief systems, religions, lifestyles, political leanings, levels of spiritual development, ages, body types, gender identities, economic statuses; the list goes on. 

Each human experience is a universe unto itself. A constellation that is contained within a body, and that body sits within a sea of other bodies and together, we make up the human condition. 

Lately, I have paid more attention to the things that seem to bind us in this moment of history. I have witnessed the feelings that define our connections. There are universal experiences that generate the connective tissue within the human race, and currently, they are heavily laced with fear, uncertainty, greed, illness, and mistrust. 

As a creative, I feel charged to work on re-patterning that connective tissue. I am eager to remix the mortar that binds us. To add new ingredients to the collective consciousness so that we can come together around joy, hope, and aliveness. 

This is why I make music. As I was writing this morning in my journal, it occurred to me that music is an energetic substance that sits around the irregularities that seperate us, and tie us together into a stable experience. You can walk into a room and know nothing of the people around you and often, when music is the activity that has inspired the gathering, the humans all start to experience the same feelings. They sway in the same rhythm, dance the same dances, cry when the emotion calls for it, and yell out in elation at the end of a song. 

A film feels empty without music. An advertisement falls flat without the tonal support of chords and rhythm. A spiritual devotion is deeply supported when the practitioners open their mouths in song or chant. 

Revolutions are held by the music makers. 

We speak truth, and live in the vulnerable and invite listeners into the opening every time we share a song. We make it ok to feel. In fact, we are encouraged by the creative force to feel deeply so that listeners and learners can connect and receive. 

If music is the mortar that connects us, what can we add to the mixture that will change how we collectively feel. How can we move the needle toward understanding, compassion, healing, and love. That is my question. 

Briget Boyle 

Musician, owner at Waxsimile Productions, performer with Briget Boyle, True Life Trio, Kitka, founder and vocal coach at UnleashYourVoice.me 

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