I have been challenged this week. It is the first time I have been on a speaking tour with a leading dietitian, nutritionist and food purchasing group. I have almost learned the perfect blend of carbs and proteins for every meal, becoming very conscious of my plate, ensuring that it is as colourful as possible at every meal.
Why in the world was I on this tour? How does music fit in?
As we left for our first leg in Victoria we settled in our seats on the plane. As the flight took off you could hear the acceleration of the engine and then it almost ceasing when it hit a certain altitude. The lady next to me leaned over and said “are the engines still working? I can’t hear them.” Then the landing gear curled up back into its spot however in the older plane it sounded like a huge thump. The people in front of me jumped and then laughed.
Like our daily intake of food many of us don’t pay attention to our auditory diet – unless we digest something not quite right. Luckily for us the plane was fine – the sounds were just not as smooth as usual.
When we see something we don’t like we can close our eyes but our ears are much more difficult to cover. When I was speaking to my audiences we discussed all the different sounds in our environment – the good, the bad and the unmentionables and then highlighted the ones that we had actual control over…there were very few. It started to seem like our auditory diet was difficult to control.
And then it hit me……”Jen, diets are not always about giving something up….about LOSING something…..they can also be about ADDING in good stuff.”
Now that is a diet I can chew on. Adding in instead of taking away. Sounds are no different. I began to identify the sounds that I love – dogs snoring, children laughing, bamboo chimes on a summer’s porch, Pink Floyd in the dark, Reggae music on the lawn. I can add even more of these sounds into my daily diet if I just make the conscious effort to do so.
The right sound mix in our environment can bring us right back to what we value most life….
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Jennifer Buchanan is the happy owner of JB Music Therapy, celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2011. Our “Music Speaks” Blog: 50 Musical Motivators for 2011 (MMs) aims to Help you Relax, Reflect and Remember what you Value Most