Close Your Eyes and Take Yourself Back - Music and Memories

In the course of everyday life, we find ourselves surrounded by music. These songs can come from many sources. The radio, a movie, a radio commercial, a television commercial, the internet or the neighbor playing an instrument for fun perhaps even a band playing in someones garage.

The music can sometimes trigger memories. Most of our firsts and lasts are defined or at least marked by music or a particular song. It could be the first day of school, a song playing on the radio. Your first kiss, the first day of your first job or just simply a day that went particularly well. The point is that a song can trigger wonderful memories or memories we would rather not remember.

Memories we don’t want to recall can be painful and be associated with a song that was playing at the time such as a funeral, a particularly unpleasant event where we were a victim or just a song playing when you learned of a tragic event. The songs we select to listen to whether it be in a playlist on our iPods or just the songs we select on our radio during the course of our day define the memories we choose to remember.

In my experience, the styles of music can also be tied to memories. My grandparents listened exclusively to country music so my memories when I hear an old country song are usually of happy memories. May you surround yourself with good memories through the songs you choose.