Therefore, come dinner time, (and tonight's dinner time was more like a 5:15 quick food-into-mouth shoveling marathon) I stood in my kitchen looking annoyingly into my cabinet and fridge for something to eat. I had crackers but no PB, salad but no chicken or salad "toppings", some potatoes, oatmeal and frozen dinners arranged "tornado style" in my freezer, and nothing sounded appealing. As I stood there, eating a whole cucumber while trying to decide my "gourmet dinner" options, my heart started pounding faster and faster out of sheer frustration. My head ticked away the seconds like a marching band drum beat just further reminding me I had no time to idle and ponder dinner. I needed decisions, and I needed them now. So, in defeated fervor I grabbed the potato to quickly microwave to discover, alas, my potato (purchased 3 days prior) had fuzzy white mold on it already. I actually "grrr"-d out-loud, slammed the potato into the trash, and leaned against the pantry door as my blood pressure rose 20pts.
Completely ready to eat whatever unfortunate food-ling lay in my path, my iTunes, which had been playing in the background the whole time, suddenly panned to "Love of the Century" by the Elders - a well known Irish band. The slow guitar picking, violin, and accordion broke through the air like a mother's lullaby, and for just a second, my heart stopped and I exhaled. His voice wrapped around my heart and I leaned my head against the pantry door, eyes closed, and breathed. In one second, my heart stopped pounding, my blood pressure returned to normal, and the incessant "to do" lists ceased to run on "loop" in my head. All I could hear was the music, and life's reminder to stop and recharge.
It only took a moment, but that one moment undid a day of stress. Music holds untold powers, and today it helped to change my mood and reset me back to "happy". Thank you.
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