scribblechic

This month’s One Little Word exercise prompted a reflection on music; the words that speak to a language of self. While others might have gathered lyrics, I’ve been reflecting on the spaces of music in my day and the sound of my family’s routines.

Breakfast begins with my daughter’s music; for her, it is the shortest distance between sleep and wakefulness. Inviting this into our morning routine has created a distracted efficiency and shorthand of self, I’ve become familiar with the words she sings in the same way I might get to know a new friend.

My husband and son use time others might use for listening to music for a favorite radio show; rather than singing in harmony they laugh in concert and there’s something wonderful about that sound itself. Early morning rides to school or weekend errands, they pick up the thread of story in snippets of time while tethering themselves to new memories.

For my part, the novelty of my short drive to work has fostered small changes; no longer do I turn the radio off. Where once I used to crave silence, using time alone to breathe in the stillness of quiet, these days I’m exploring music.

There is no one song for this moment, no mix-tape of memories; only a curious listening as I fill new minutes to a soundtrack of change. Wholehearted has gifted me permission to play at uncertain delight, listening more to the emotions beneath my choices as I work through the relationship between sound and self.