Nostalgia. Inspiration. Labour. Star gazing. Shoe gazing. Contemplation. Friendship. Adventure. Late nights. Early mornings. Family. Sweat. Writing. Reading. Running. Pain. Catharsis. Healing. Relaxation. Travel. Focus. Purpose. Creating life out of life, as Stephen Daedalus would say.

Listening to “I Remember” by electronicist extraordinaire Tristam as I start writing this piece. I heard this song for the first time last week, yet I felt and foresaw nostalgia the first time I heard it. A song — despite constraints of time and sound — can unlock a string of doors into the past, and forge a path into the future.

How does this fascinating concoction of organized sound, “music” as we call it, impact our lives?

Music is a language of emotion, of passion incarnate. Filmmakers know this well. We depend on music and song to interpret how we ought to feel in response to a presented narrative. That’s crazy! Despite the complex construct of camera angles, carefully crafted dialogue, lighting, acting, and vivid visuals, the soundtrack selection declares the final pathos. How you really feel.

I like to think about how each of us has our own life soundtrack– we all have a corpus of music that accompanies memories, experiences, ideas, relationships. We find connections to our highest joys and deepest sorrows. We relate to others through the vulnerability. As Kid Cudi confided, “…all of these emotions are pouring out of me / I bring them to the light for you, it’s only right / this is the soundtrack to my life…”

The ancients were aware of its potency. Plato believed the ideal education included both music and gymnastics, to respectively train the soul and the body. Music, including literary education and melody, fertilizes the feelings for what is valuable, while gymnastics (referring to all physical training) toughens the body and the spirit. In balance, the two prevent an individual from becoming conversely too soft or too calloused.

Marx said that Christianity is the opiate of the masses, but melody wields its power in a far more widespread and subtle fashion in the modern age. As Plato suggested, what we care about takes root in the messages we believe.

The cathartic nature of music has led some to see it as a path to purpose. Nietzsche said that without music, life would be a mistake. In truth, Nietzsche already thought life was a mistake; music just give it the illusion of purpose. Yeasayer echoes the sentiment: “We’re going nowhere / but we won’t stop trying / and we’re swallowing the decibels.”

I am more optimistic than Nietzsche and Yeasayer. There is great and meaning to be found in pursuing difficult ends through enormous obstacles in the camaraderie of a dear few. In this light, take caution as you proceed. Music can be both a help and a hindrance to this goal.

As of late, I have become more wary about the sway of song upon my life. In tandem with the virtually infinite volume and variety of music available via Spotify, Pandora, Youtube, etc., it is crucial to be cognizant of the impact of individualized entertainment on one’s life. Alexis de Tocqueville foresaw the tendency of a republican democratic society to make our lives extremely self-centered, and our consumption of music as an solo enterprise can all too easily begin to reflect that.

If we consume too much, it will eat away at the time we can use to truly relish and experience life. Without some measure of discipline, I could easily have listened to music or watched videos with the time I used to write this post. Alternatively, there is much to benefit from and freely enjoy from music, especially when shared among friends. It can inspire us towards greater ideals, and fuel the pursuit of greatness.

Pathos must be accompanied by logos. Our purpose is not the pursuit of emotion itself, for powerful emotion is the by-product of life lived as it was intended.