“Are you enjoying the music to heighten your experience of life and to give yourself that main character moment as
you experience the world?
Or are you just canceling the world out, closing yourself off to what’s happening around you?”
What if there was a third reason – not to put yourself in the center of your story, nor to block others out, but to
block yourself out. To distract yourself from your innermost thoughts and give yourself a break from...you.
I don’t know when it started, but music has now become a necessity in my life. I listen to music during my
commute, I have it playing in the background when I do work, and even need it to fall asleep sometimes. The
main reason for it? To keep myself grounded. To distract myself from thoughts that would send me spiraling.
And the more I tell people about my need for music, the more and more people tell me that they do the same
thing. Whether it be music, podcasts, audiobooks, or other forms of audio media, newer generations have
become more prone to playing something in the background.
I believe that we live in an ironic society in which we encourage others to talk about what’s on their minds and
what’s bogging them down. Whether there’s something that’s causing them strife, or something they’re looking
forward to, we want to be there for our friends and family – to be that familiar listener, to o
er advice, to be a
shoulder to lean on. But, while we’re so eager to help those around us, is it that easy for us to open ourselves up
to others? Not just with our daily goings, but about what we want, how we feel, where we perceive our future
going. I believe the hardest person to be truly open and vulnerable with .... is ourselves.
I’ve had friends who moved to big cities in pursuit of a strong social life. They’d pack their schedules full of
social activities and outings to the point where you wonder how they ever have any time for themselves. The
secret? They didn’t want alone time. Because then they would have to confront what’s been annoying them.
Confront parts about their life they weren’t happy with. Fallouts that didn’t make sense but that they didn’t
have time to spare to think about. They were purposefully booking themselves out so that they wouldn’t have to
deal with any of it at the moment. And when they came home to their personal space? Time to turn on movies
or playlists as they got ready to turn in for the night.
Music also provides that same e
ect for many people today. It’s a form of distraction – but not only from others,
but from yourself. It’s a medium that creates a buzz in the back of your mind, that can build a sound wall
between what’s on your mind and what you want to focus on. It sounds out the thoughts that you yourself
aren’t prepared to be bombarded by until you think you’re ready to. It helps provide a moment of relief, of
peace, of quiet. It lets your brain go into a lull when you have melodies and lyrics to focus on instead.
Now this is by no means the right manner to go about dealing with yourself and your thoughts. There are far
more appropriate and more helpful outlets to seek out. Nor is music supposed to be a long-term solution to rely
on. But it’s a manner of coping that’s right there in front of you, that’s accessible to most at the touch of their
ngers.
Maybe it’s due to the shorter attention span caused by short-form media that we constantly need something
playing to keep our minds a
oat. Maybe it’s due to not wanting to confront the chaoticness inside of us in fears
of what we’ll uncover. Music is now not just something to play, but something we ended up needing.
