Music is a lustrous light that enters through the ears and courses through the body like the blood that flows within its veins. It is almost an iridescent light in the way that the same sound means something different to each mind it enters and radiates a different feeling based on the perspective it is seen from. It has this incredible power to create a seemingly perfect ambiance for any moment and a flawless accompaniment to any emotion. The sound of the beat can create this small space in between time, like a distant dream or staring through a window at a perfect world, where you feel unreservedly at peace.
The scintillating sun reflects off the tranquil waters and you sit staring out at the horizon while your favourite song plays, making this serene moment last forever. It is as if the music is a brush dipped in the happiness you feel in your heart to paint a picture of a more colourful world. It fills the space in your mind and intensifies your emotion to allow it to be felt in every part of your body. The smile that forms on your face is one of the most genuine things in this world. You begin to move with the rhythm, free from the restraint of thought that holds you to the ground, and feel nothing but pure elation.
When times get rough, music carries us through the darkest of nights like a canoe drifting off at sea through a cloud of uncertainty. It helps us deal with the things we cannot bear on our own yet distracts us from the things we aren't ready to face. We can focus on the sound and ignore everything else around us. Sometimes, it holds the key to the tears we can’t cry on our own. Sometimes, it calms us down and locks the gate when we can’t do it ourselves. Those times when the day seems bleak, the melody guides us through the darkness to the light that lies at the end of the tunnel.
Music is like armour. It protects us from our mind’s desire to worry about the things we cannot control. It gives us confidence that we never knew we had and puts the bounce in our step when it’s been missing for too long. It helps us through the day when we aren’t even sure that we can keep on going. It allows us to live in our own little world, a safe haven, when the real one doesn’t seem like the right place for us. Like a hidden city within our own minds, it is one of the few places where nothing and no one can disturb our peace and equanimity.
Like an intertwining web, music connects us; one soul to another. When we move to the same rhythm and step to the same beat, we momentarily live in a harmony that is irreplicable in any other aspect of the world. It has the power to unify people against forces that try to divide us. It follows us through life, like a shadow that emits light instead of darkness, to give us something to lean on when the weight of the world feels heavy on our shoulders. It cascades within us like the air we breathe and gives us the strength to keep pushing through the highs and lows that make up this beautiful thing we call life.
Qaeeza Ramji is 17 years old and is a student at Reynolds Secondary School in Victoria. She is an aspiring writer, poet and fashion designer. Despite her quiet personality, she is passionate about using her voice to bring about positive change. She currently serves as Director of Youth Engagement for the Victoria World Partnership Walk.
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* This article was published in the print edition of the Times COlonist on Saturday, June 5th 2021
