The Perfect Song Led Me to Happiness

How static played a role in my enlightenment.

Music touches the core of my being. The tones, the bass, the rhythm, and the lyrics can alter my emotional state in mere minutes. In the old days, my eyes would mist over words that conveyed an emotional thought on a greeting card. I have not seen a Hallmark store in years, but I can still be found either laughing at the comedic Maxine cards or dabbing the tears in my eyes, in the local supermarket section, over a sympathy card.

Words matter to me.

They impact me and trigger the range of all emotions. They can be written, spoken, or sung. I love them all.

My kids don’t possess my strong affinity for country music. I shamelessly beg them to listen to certain songs because, “the words, you just have to listen to the story and I swear, it will touch your soul!”

When someone asks you to listen to the words of a song, it may be because the lyrics say everything they want to say, but better.

So many people miss this message in life. It’s a pretty simple concept, but maybe subtlety does not work for those who dismiss it. I have had to backseat my sharing of emotions by using a song.

Then, one day, the realization that I had been reduced to background static crushed me and my efforts.

I wanted to be more than static.

I was in a rough patch.

There was a song that struck me from the moment I first heard it. I was overwhelmed with the feeling that someone was robbing my thoughts and putting them together in perfectly stated and artistic lyrics. The timing couldn’t have been better for my sanity.

I would stop everything and anything when it played on the radio. The artist knew me, understood me, and I understood them. There was no other explanation. The song seemed to address a problematic situation that I was in and was much better at portraying what I was feeling. My words alone, thus far, had not sufficed. And, words matter to me.

I had tried and fumbled too many times prior.

I could use this song as a platform or foundation to introduce necessary dialogue. Now, how to accomplish this? After at least a month of ingesting this song in its entirety, I was ready.

All I needed was for it to play at the opportune time. I could count at least a dozen or so missed opportunities. It would play when I was alone. Frustration was setting in.

Without a doubt, the topic at hand was a sensitive one. The lyrics confirmed that I was not the only one with these emotions. My gentle approach would combine nicely with this recorded song. My confidence was growing.

I would have to take great care to let it unfold organically. Anything rehearsed would be met with defensive resistance. And, because the words were seemingly mine anyway, there would be no need to practice or orchestrate my delivery. Everything happens for a reason, and this song was no exception.

It came into my life, and I would maximize its purpose.

I pictured a future in which every time we would hear the song again, we would laugh or reflect on how a simple song could be so curative. In my zest for a full-circle understanding and reinforced insight, the unexpected sting of reality caught me off guard.

In my hopes of simplicity and clarity, I had forgotten to allow for everything to fall flat.

The day arrived. The song came on when we were all together. To make sure all ears were opened to this groundbreaking, potential epiphany for all, I brought attention to it immediately.

“Oh, this song!”

My ears perked up, and I can taste success. The door had opened. Conversations filled with different slants and engaging perspectives would put us on the road to success. We can all learn something. I am sure of it.

That expression, ‘being clipped at the knees,’ comes to mind now. Everything went seriously wrong. That opened door slammed shut.

Two opinions quickly surfaced with passion.

“I hate this song. How stupid is this? As if real life is like that? Please. What a whiny good-for-nothing.” A concurrence is pretty rapid on the heels of these statements.

I sat there dumbfounded. I think my shock at this unplanned reaction caused me to temporarily disassociate. This made no sense to me at all. Any additional dialogue was completely thwarted. To say I was bamboozled is an understatement.

This whole distasteful moment is always in my mind to remind me of a couple of life-altering lessons I learned right then.

The first lesson was that I wasted a lot of time over-complicating an issue.

Waiting for a song to play at the perfect time was idiotic on my part. In all fairness, it was a ‘Hail Mary’ attempt, given that I had exhausted all other known avenues.

A more aware person would have recognized the signs. If you are at the stage of a pipe dream miracle, your odds of success are greatly diminished. Throw in all of my imaginary positive outcomes and premature feelings of relief, and I felt like a fool.

To myself. By myself. So noted.

My second lesson was that any ending should never be anticipated.

Being hopeful has drawbacks. You can see rainbows where none exist. The other people involved have their own perspectives which add in too many variables. However, we are all entitled to our opinions.

Turns out I allowed the static to swallow me whole. I was not afforded my voice.

At some point, my words weren’t going to be heard. When and why did I allow being settled into the static?

The particular song that I loved then I still love now. The only difference is in how I enjoy it today.

By default, the song taught me more than I anticipated about life, myself, my own actions, and my expectations from others.

The biggest lesson from the song was that I deserved to be more than background noise. And, it’s okay to walk away from what I don’t want and head for what I deserve.

I would rather know that a road leads nowhere, and stop wasting time driving to a dead end.

I still hear new lyrics that I think others should hear and could relate to, but, I no longer overreach.

They can enjoy their songs and I’ll enjoy my songs.

I no longer settle for being simply static.

That song served me well and still led me to happiness.

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