4 minutes - the perfect song

4 minutes – the perfect song

The last week or so I’ve been trying to piece together some thoughts for my next entry, and I think it finally came together in my head today.  Hopefully I can articulate as clear as it seemed on my drive home from work today!

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately reflecting on the last couple years.  It’s one of those paradoxes where it seems like time is both flying by and crawling.  So much has happened, and yet there is so much coming up.  As I thought about the last few years, naturally my mind went to the highest points and my lowest points.  I won’t touch on those specifically, but it got me thinking about how people tend to focus on how quickly time flies when times are good, as well as how they deal with adversity.  But then I started thinking about what sustains me when things are neither really good nor really bad…what do I live for?  Am I one of those people that lives from peak to peak, trying to avoid the valleys?  Do I find genuine happiness in my day-to-day life? 

When I think about what sustains me, my natural inclination is to point to my family, friends, and faith.  But then I started thinking beyond the obvious.  I love to run.  I love to learn.  I love to be outside.  I love puzzles.  I love movies that can make me both laugh and cry all within the same 90 minute period.  And I love music. 

Then I had my “a-ha!” moment for the blog.  Music not only sustains me in my day-to-day life, bringing me general happiness as I ride to and from work, spend time at the gym, or attend church.  Music also is something that makes those really great moments even better, and provides comfort in those really tough times.  I have a pretty eclectic taste in music.  While my favorites include country, latin, Christian rock, and classic rock, I also enjoy pop, hip-hop, musicals, and pretty much anything under the sun. 

This week I heard a couple songs on the radio – one that made me reflect on some high points in my life, and one that made me think about some of my more difficult moments.

“Rewind” by Rascal Flatts – this is a newer song by one of my favorite country artists.  In the song the artist is reflecting on a night so wonderful that he wants to rewind it and do it all over again.  I love the melody and something about it just makes me think of some of those super fun summer nights in high school and college that I just never wanted to end.  Every time I hear it on the radio I crank it up and roll down the windows and it just makes me feel happy.

“Get Back Up” by Toby Mac – a couple years ago I started listening to the Christian station in Columbus (104.9 The River).  I just wanted to give it a chance since I do enjoy Christian rock music.  I find a lot of comfort in this station.  The songs are uplifting, and the morning show is just good, clean fun.  It also gets me to work on a positive note.  This song talks about bouncing back from a difficult time.  I like it because it’s a broad enough topic that you can relate it to almost any situation – a serious medical issue, a bad day at work, an upsetting conversation, whatever it may be.  The story within in the song basically acknowledges that we go through tough times, and those times often change us, but that love heals.  I think I like it because it makes me feel like a human – that it’s okay that things go wrong – but it ends with a positive, hopeful message.

So there you have it – 2 songs, both under 4 minutes – spend the 10 minutes and check them out if you aren’t familiar with them already.  Music breathes life into my world.  It sustains me, and reminds me of the best of times, and gives me hope during the worst of times.  What are your go-to songs?  What song makes you get lost in time?  What keeps you going on those tough days?