Looking for Some “Soul Salve”? Try MusicRx

“Music can heal the wounds which medicine cannot touch.” - Debasish Mridha, MD, Neurologist and Author

Pause to consider the role that music plays in your life.  It is well known that music has great power to generate and modulate one’s emotions, and I certainly tap into each of these attributes regularly.  Additionally, music has played a vital role in connecting people across time and geography, and it still does.  Its impact for many, as it has been for me, is both profound  and life-long.

It therefore brought me great joy to recently review my Spotify “Wrapped 2024”.   This is an end of the year summary of my listening habits on the music app and for this year included, among other things, minutes of listening (40,235 and counting) and number of unique songs (4,322).   It also created a “Your Top Songs 2024” playlist of my 100 most listened to songs and even very creatively characterized my various “phases” and “seasons” of listening during the year.  What I found more intriguing, however, was one of my most listened to songs of the year.

Let me explain.  One of the features I particularly enjoy on this app is something called “Discover Weekly,” which uses a sophisticated algorithm (“magic” to me) to find songs which are somehow similar to those I enjoy listening to, but that have not shown up on my playlist.  Through this feature I have discovered music I never would have even known existed, and some of those songs have become all-time favorites and have taken on deep meaning for me. 

That was the case again this year, when, in a “top 10” list dominated by uplifting and upbeat music, the song "Teil IV" by the Icelandic composer Kjartan Sveinsson appeared.  From the first time I heard this music, something was viscerally stirred within me, and I felt “reverently uplifted” but also with a touch of sadness, even grief, that I didn’t even recognize was needed.  It was like an application of “Soul salve.”  I have no idea how the Discover Weekly algorithm led me to this song, but it has been a true gift for me in 2024, and even after numerous listens still moves me deeply and feels like it is healing something within me.    

So for this week, I share this song with you (link above), knowing that statistically few if any of you have ever heard it before.  Even though it is long (11 minutes), I encourage you to find a relaxing space, quiet your heart, and listen, paying particular attention to what emotions are stirred for you and perhaps what memories appear.  It is my hope that it might serve as some “Soul medicine” for you as well.

Then take a moment to consider what might be some of your “top songs” for 2024, especially ones that spoke to something deep inside you.  Take some time this week to listen to those songs again, considering what their message might be for you.  And if you are so moved, share these songs with others, including your PeerRx partner.  Afterall, connecting through music is yet one more way that we can share this journey together, and one more reason to do so.