My cousin Linda - in her own right, an amazing woman, strong in her beliefs and proof that you can live your faith - asked me to contribute to her blog. I wrote a true story about the healing power of music and what follows is that story. It's a thank you to all the musicians in my life.
After my second marriage failed, I decided to retire from the world for awhile and spend a little time with myself.
I didn't plan on it becoming a habit or a way of life but several years passed and I found myself going to work and coming home. I slept in between without having to answer the 'phone or talk to anyone or see anyone. I re-read my favorite books, watched old movies, listened to old music and tended my animals. I dug in. And eventually I built a wall around myself and my heart and felt secure.
Someone I worked with persuaded me to go to the opening of a bar she and her husband had bought, I said yes because I was weary of saying no and she wouldn't stop nagging. I planned a quick entrance and a quicker
exit - the thought of a crowd was paralyzing to me - way outside what had become my comfort zone. I was
about to leave when the music started. It was old Delta blues and something about it caught my ear. I turned to look at the stage and saw nothing remarkable, a blues band with guitar, bass, drums, keyboard and harmonica.
They were playing tight, easy with each other and never missing a note. To my surprise I found myself sitting back down - it was music I hadn't heard for years, hadn't even thought about in years and when I heard the first notes of the harmonica it was as if a a lighthouse beam was shining and pulling me in. When the vocals began, I was lost and I knew it.
If there really are crossroads where you make a life altering decision in a heartbeat, on an impulse you can't even explain to yourself, I found myself at one. The music reached inside me where no one was allowed to go and it took hold. Not only could I not leave, I didn't want to. I forgot about where I was, forgot about protecting myself, forgot about the fact that I was surrounded by people.
The next weekend, I found myself standing in front of a bar... shaking with self consciousness and fear, convinced that I was about to do the most foolish thing of my entire life and not able to resist. I'd never walked into a bar alone in my life and had never intended to. But I could hear the music, I could hear the sweet sound of that harp. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and let the music in.
A blues band and a harmonica player saved my life. The music led me back and has since led to other music,
other musicians, festivals, concerts, jams...to friends and a life outside myself. Needing a way to say thank you, I began taking pictures again. I shoot musicians wherever they play. And the people and places and things that I love. Music brought me back from a dark place and the blues showed me the way.
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