I grew up with a very limited concept of what music is. Being part of a conservative family and even more conservative church meant that our listening options were mostly classical music, conservative Christian music and a few oldies (think Nat King Cole type of oldies.) As I got older, things became more flexible and we were able to incorporate some other artists, although even those we considered "borderline" are considered conservative to most of the outside world (think Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Il Divo, Il Volo etc.) Thus, even though I was and am a musician of sorts, my understanding of music were stringent and incredibly limited.
Enter the teenage years. If there is a teenager out there who did not rebel in some way, I would like to talk to you personally. Music was one of my areas of rebellion. I was figuring out that there were many other different kinds of music that I had never experienced before. I wanted to hear it all. And I did. I listened to just about every genre out there, and ate it all up. I discovered many different cultures of the world by listening to their music. I experienced the harshness of the life of many inner-city kids by listening to rap. I felt the pain of lost love by listening to jazz. I danced along with the islanders of reggae.
I knew that my forbidden love of world music could never be understood by those enforcing the strict music-listening regulations, but I could not for the life of me understand why all these other cultures were "off limits." I mean, I knew all the lingo about the Devil using rock and roll to corrupt people and make them do drugs and have sex, but I didn't ever actually understand how they came to that conclusion. Throughout the ages, new music, specifically secular music, has been rejected by religious conservatives. At one point, even the organ was considered "too worldly" for church services. I saw along my Christian peers, and often still see, a fear of change and progress. But even more so, I saw a fear of DIFFERENCES.
"Well, that's different." When we hear that phrase, generally it's not being used in support of said "different" thing. It's usually used to implicate that something is not good because it is different. Something unexpected. Something that has been changed. No longer the status quo. We as humans tend to HATE change. We like pattern and routine. We like what we are used to. And sometimes, we're used to good things. We like good things. But that doesn't make them the only good things.
Let me explain. There's a certain artist that my spouse enjoys listening to. I dislike this artist and most of the music he produces. However, I acknowledge that there is still musical merit to this artist's music, even though I do not enjoy it. The music is not bad simply because I don't enjoy it. It's different than my preferences, but that doesn't make it any less valid. Get where I'm going with this?
There are a lot of things that we as humans don't like. It's in our nature to enjoy certain activities, while not at all enjoying others. It's also human nature to have different likes and dislikes from even those we are closest to. Our differences are what make our communities unique. The problem arises when we deem something bad simply because it is different than what we like.
I did not aesthetically enjoy all the different genres of music I listened to as a teenager and college student, but I learned to appreciate other cultures and people because of their music. Their self-expression in song was what they felt represented who they were, and when we invalidate someone's expression of self, we are invalidating them as a person. Keeping an open mind when experiencing different cultures is key to being able to understand people, their struggles, their pain, their love and, ultimately, their lives.
So my challenge to you this week is to experience something that's different than your norm. Outside your comfort zone. Discover a new aspect of the human experience you haven't checked out before. This could be a different kind of music, food, reading material or art. Get outside of yourself and discover someone else!
Enter the teenage years. If there is a teenager out there who did not rebel in some way, I would like to talk to you personally. Music was one of my areas of rebellion. I was figuring out that there were many other different kinds of music that I had never experienced before. I wanted to hear it all. And I did. I listened to just about every genre out there, and ate it all up. I discovered many different cultures of the world by listening to their music. I experienced the harshness of the life of many inner-city kids by listening to rap. I felt the pain of lost love by listening to jazz. I danced along with the islanders of reggae.
I knew that my forbidden love of world music could never be understood by those enforcing the strict music-listening regulations, but I could not for the life of me understand why all these other cultures were "off limits." I mean, I knew all the lingo about the Devil using rock and roll to corrupt people and make them do drugs and have sex, but I didn't ever actually understand how they came to that conclusion. Throughout the ages, new music, specifically secular music, has been rejected by religious conservatives. At one point, even the organ was considered "too worldly" for church services. I saw along my Christian peers, and often still see, a fear of change and progress. But even more so, I saw a fear of DIFFERENCES.
"Well, that's different." When we hear that phrase, generally it's not being used in support of said "different" thing. It's usually used to implicate that something is not good because it is different. Something unexpected. Something that has been changed. No longer the status quo. We as humans tend to HATE change. We like pattern and routine. We like what we are used to. And sometimes, we're used to good things. We like good things. But that doesn't make them the only good things.
Let me explain. There's a certain artist that my spouse enjoys listening to. I dislike this artist and most of the music he produces. However, I acknowledge that there is still musical merit to this artist's music, even though I do not enjoy it. The music is not bad simply because I don't enjoy it. It's different than my preferences, but that doesn't make it any less valid. Get where I'm going with this?
There are a lot of things that we as humans don't like. It's in our nature to enjoy certain activities, while not at all enjoying others. It's also human nature to have different likes and dislikes from even those we are closest to. Our differences are what make our communities unique. The problem arises when we deem something bad simply because it is different than what we like.
I did not aesthetically enjoy all the different genres of music I listened to as a teenager and college student, but I learned to appreciate other cultures and people because of their music. Their self-expression in song was what they felt represented who they were, and when we invalidate someone's expression of self, we are invalidating them as a person. Keeping an open mind when experiencing different cultures is key to being able to understand people, their struggles, their pain, their love and, ultimately, their lives.
So my challenge to you this week is to experience something that's different than your norm. Outside your comfort zone. Discover a new aspect of the human experience you haven't checked out before. This could be a different kind of music, food, reading material or art. Get outside of yourself and discover someone else!
