1) I have about 150+ pages to read by tomorrow (oh, how I wish I was kidding) so I'll only post only a portion of what I want to share. 2) Yes, that's an actual screen cap of (part of) my iTunes library.
I've been alluding to the fact that I've been doing some major changes in my life lately. I have. I'll eventually get into the details of the other things I've changed and will change (such as a sort of experiment in which this "jeans and a t-shirt" gal will wear only skirts and dresses for a year) but for now I am going to share one of the hardest for me.
As some of you know, I'm a massive music nerd. I took some Jazz Studies courses my freshman year of college and was set to do that before I had a change of heart. I often help friends out (both guys and gals) with picking out music for playlists for their significant others, road trips, or weddings. You need a song for a specific occasion, I'm your girl. My first love was music and the love affair has stayed with me my entire life thus far. When I was a toddler I used to pluck a string on my mom's guitar and then run away, laughing my little tush off. When I got older, I started singing in school choir. I eventually learned how to play some Beethoven at the end of elementary school and I fulfilled my dream of learning to play the guitar when I was in my late teens. Music is almost always playing, whether it's on the way to or from somewhere or in the background while I'm home. Basically, St. Cecilia (the patroness of music and my confirmation saint) would be proud... yet maybe not entirely.
The reason why I am doing a major music library overhaul is because I've noticed a distinct change in me in the last couple of months that is more obvious now that I've acknowledged it: I am no longer comfortable listening to everything I grew up with. I will be the first to admit that I tend to focus on the melody and not so much the lyrics until a couple of plays. It may be because I usually favor music that is mainly instrumental. Either way, as I've been paying attention to the lyrics of the songs I own I've begun to feel uncomfortable listening to them. An example of a song is like the ones highlighted in the post picture. This particular part of my iTunes library that shows that I have two versions of the same song by two of my favorite jazz vocalists. I LOVE Ella Fitzgerald and June Christy. Their songs are the ones I like to sing when I'm alone at home and can belt out a few without feeling self-conscience. There are a couple of parts that I don't feel happy singing but it's mostly the lyric "thank God I can be over-sexed again." I just can't sing that and the more I listen to the song, the less comfortable I am even hearing it. This is part of why I'm doing the changes.
I may be criticized for possibly being too puritanical in my ways of thinking but I need to do this for me. Consider "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" deleted from my music library. These are just some of the examples I'm going to be sharing as I embark on this quite hard journey (for me, as a music lover, at least) to rid myself of these songs.
That's all I'm going to share for tonight. I still have a lot of things to do in preparation for a very probable test I may have in my Christology course tomorrow so that's it for now. I'll maybe take every Monday this month to finish posting on this or maybe I'll be able to finish it next Monday. It'll all depend on how much free time I actually have during the week. So much reading/studying and not so much free time. :) Anyway, it's "Only the Beginning of the Adventure." (Quick, someone figure out where that song is from. ;D)
I hope y'all had a great long weekend and have a fantastic week. :D
As always, thanks for reading and God bless. :D
3 comments:
Apparently we are in quite similar spots on our "journeys" right now. I literally have been toying with the same two ideas - regarding music/media influences and my dress for the last few weeks also. I am definitely a radio listener, not a music-collector, but finding good Christian music stations can be difficult. The dressing thing I'd already been debating on, and then it just kinda crept up on me "hmm, you've worn skirts three days in a row, let's wear one tomorrow and see where this goes."
strange that sometimes you find someone who is a "Twin" on your journey. interestingly, a few weeks ago when i was first thinking on this whole dress thing i had an excellent humbling moment. i was in church - dressed in my usual skirt and shirt sunday ensemble. i noticed a girl (older teens maybe) wearing an outfit that i definitely did not consider mass appropriate, already in my mind i'm judging it, wondering why people think such things are appropriate. well 1/2 an hour later i found her in the front row of the adoration chapel with her rosary beads. God certainly put me in my place on that one.
Hey, I'm glad for both of you - Sounds really positive for you both.
I cleared out my iTunes a couple of years ago when I actually admitted that I was in discernment. As an ex biker it was full of metal and rap music. Out of about 1000 tunes I had less than 150 left at the end. Now I'm filling it up again with Christian rock and its all good.
Something my mother (of all people) said to me when I mentioned to her what I'd done (and something I have since adopted myself) is that when doing anything - Watching TV, listening to a song, reading a book etc - to ask yourself would I be happy to do this with Jesus sitting right next to me, in this room, right now? if the answer is no then you have your answer about keeping that song / watching that station etc.
Peace,
LF
LF -
Growing up my grandmother actually had a sign in her living room on top of the television that said "Would Jesus watch this program with you?" I'm pretty sure she got some smart comments from us along the lines of "But Jesus didn't have tv." but it's still a good point haha.
LB
And lastly, a relevant, newly found quote: "The dress of the body should not discredit the good of the soul." - St. Cyprian of Carthage
Post a Comment