Wednesdays with Words: Music and Song

I listen to a lot of podcast and had gotten behind this spring, so this summer, while many are on either hiatus or slower schedule, I’ve been catching up.

One of the ones I’ve caught up on is A Delectable Education. This summer they’re publishing a little more slowly, which makes the catching up easier.

In Episode 34, the ladies discussed Art Study and Composer Study (or Art and Music Appreciation, which maybe I like better as terms). During the Music Appreciation, Liz Cottrill explained how she had attended a performance/ presentation by composer, Alice Parker. She quoted Parker:

We are so inundated and surrounded by so many things – music, muzak, art, images, news, words – we cannot come close to taking it in. It’s exhausting to sift through the flood to find what is good and true and beautiful in order to nourish our souls. While we’re drowning in mental stimulation, we become less discriminating (in the good way)

Yesterday, while my children were at swim lessons, I went to walk the dog. I was disappointed because I had forgotten my earbuds to listen to my podcasts for the day. I couldn’t imagine walking for 2-3 miles without that support. Now, I do listen to the scriptures via podcast and I do listen to generally helpful discussions while I walk, but I wondered then – and I wonder now – if it wouldn’t be wiser to listen to the birds and the river and the breeze and the dog panting. Would that really be such a waste of my time? (I did listen to my podcasts through my speakers; did I make the right choice? I don’t know)

We surround ourselves with music – but does that mean we miss the song?

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