Win Harper | Life and Leadership Coach

“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything.” Plato

Elizabeth and I are taking Zumba exercise classes at our local Y.M.C.A.  Funny how life is:  I have danced more this past three months than I have my entire life.  I even practiced one of the moves I was having difficulty with at home.  Amazingly, I am actually beginning to feel the music within me.  The only other time I felt this was in a workshop with Gabrielle Roth in 1995.

Music has always been an important part of my life.  I grew up in the 50’s and early 60’s, and the songs and singers from that era still bring a smile to my face.  Roy Orbison, The 5 Satins, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Ferlin Husky, Dell Shannon, Connie Francis, Little Richard, The Kalin Twins, Peggy March, and the list goes on.  As I mentioned in a previous blog, I am an obsessive watcher of the Time-Life music series on TV.  I watch those video clips of singers from my past, and I can see the joy in their eyes and feel the music in their souls.

I once tried to choose my top 10 songs of all time; I got down to about 100, and couldn’t eliminate any more.  Some songs vividly evoke memories of people, places, things, or times; and some are simply mesmerizing.

While on the Appalachian Trail in 1996, I had Bonnie Tyler’s, “Total Eclipse of the Heart” stuck in my head for days!  Worse, I only knew about two lines: Turnaround, every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you’re never coming around, and don’t know what to do and I’m always in the dark, We’re living in a powder keg and giving off sparks…. A few days later, as I was eating lunch at a restaurant just off the trail that song was played on the sound system.  I know that happens a lot and I have thought about it often.  I have time.  I don’t believe that I manifested the song, but I was attuned to the sound because it has been in my head so much.  The song would have played without my thoughts, but if I wasn’t focused on it, I might have missed it.  That is why focusing on what you want is so important.  It attunes you to opportunities that the Universe presents to you daily.  When we are not sure of what we want we miss those chances.

Today, I use music in my workshops and classes. Normally I ask, “What is your theme song?”  I got the idea from the movie,  I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (1988).  Here is the relevant scene:

Jack Spade: [looks at musicians] Who are these guys?
John Spade: They’re my theme music. Every hero’s got to have some.

I believe we are all heroes and we are on our own hero’s journey.  Having “our theme song” in our heads helps us to be aware of who we are, and to give soul to the universe.  What songs inspire you?  What is your theme song? 

I recommend you choose a theme song and have an inspirational songs playlist on your IPod that you can listen to when you want to motivate yourself, and “to give wings to your mind, flight to your imagination.”