Since the radio cycles through talk shows and advertisements during my commute, I turned back to my cassettes for music during the commute. One of the unmarked cassettes in my car contained Christmas Music from Mannheim Steamroller, and I've listened to it all this weekend as I drove around, and I remembered something. Over the last decade, I have listened to a particular remix of Silent Night from this group when I needed to recenter myself and prepare myself for a difficult situation. I share it here in hopes that maybe it can be of help to you:
While I was still married, frequently my days got worse when I arrived home. Before going into the house, I would sit in the car and play this version of Silent Night over and over until I was calm, until I felt peace, until I was ready to go in and face whatever new madness threatened to rob me of a refuge in my own home. I'm actually surprised this cassette is in as good shape as it is, since I know I have rewound and replayed this particular stretch of tape probably thousands of times. Something about the energy of this song always helped, no matter how bad my day went, and I went in to face my new challenges in the best attitude possible.
They say that music matters, that music is life, that music can affect people. THey also say that what they want us to buy is music, and I think most modern "artists" have a "song" about which could be said, "Someone really got paid to write that tripe?" Many of them repeat the same four chords, use the same three instruments, and use repetitive lyrics, and the rest aren't music as much as they are noise. I don't really know how someone is supposed to be made a better person when the lyrics are vapid, violent, or vulgar. I don't really know how a person cannot help but be helped by music well composed, well designed, and well orchestrated to elevate your life. You don't have to believe in Christ or like Christmas to appreciate a good remix of a song, and you don't have to be perfect to have God step into your life and touch your heart, calm your mind, and heal your soul with good music.
I doubt very much that Mannheim Steamroller intended this when they wrote this arrangement, but it STILL works to help me when my mind is troubled. This week, with my mind awry, my nerves on edge, and my heart still broken, I sat in my car Friday night and listened to "Silent Night" until I felt better. Maybe it's because I served as a missionary in Austria near where this song was originally composed that I feel a special bond to Silent Night. Perhaps it's because I sang it in German for a program in church eight years ago. It could be that this song was really written so that anyone troubled can "sleep in heavenly peace". It did that for me that night, and I hope that you choose music that helps you become a better person. I know it's early for Christmas, but it's been far better than the music to which I listened during the past few weeks, and I feel a difference already. At least for tonight, I feel some peace.
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