Yesterday, I wrote a piece about things you can do to eliminate some of the stress in your daily life and I apparently neglected to include something so integral to keeping one’s stress low and maintain good mental health; music. Every morning, I spend roughly 10 to 15 minutes travelling to work and at least as much, if not more, travelling back, due to end of day traffic. During this commute, I usually take advantage of the time to play some music (I have over 3,000 songs on my phone) and usually find myself singing along.
Doing so is incredibly therapeutic and plays a big part in my mood and mindset by the time I’ve gotten to work or by the time I’ve gotten home. Pleasant, upbeat songs can have a significant and positive effect on one’s state of mind. Although good music won’t pay your bills or get your boss off your back, a better state of mind can help how you manage those aspects of your day.
I’ve had this happen before but it always makes me smile and I couldn’t help but share… Yesterday evening, I was travelling home and I had the music just blaring in my car. Since I’m an A/C guy, I rarely have my windows down but I apparently had the music loud enough to be somewhat heard from the outside. I was north-bound on the main strip leading to my homee when I came to a red light at a major intersection.
I was singing along to the best of my ability when I glanced to my left and noticed a car full of young people (young to me, mind you) smiling and laughing in my apparent direction. Before I could decide if they were laughing at me or with me, they motioned for me to lower my window, which I foolishly did. I say “foolish,” because one can never truly know another person’s intention but I took the chance and everyone in their vehicle started crooning along with the song that was playing. Here what we were listening to:
It’s definitely a catchy song and it plastered a smile on my face to have these random people join me in my little daily ritual of singing some joy into my evening. On occasion, unexpected happiness can find its way into one’s day, if one is willing to pay attention for it. In this case, a small piece of music and a three-minute wait at a red light was enough to bring a half dozen people together in a joyous moment. What more can one ask for, in this life? ☯️
The Blogging Buddhist 