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I choose a song for each new year, just as I do a word and symbol. Together the three create a theme for the upcoming months that guides and inspires my journey. There’s plenty of info online about selecting a word or a symbol and not much about choosing a song. I’m remedying that!
For years I’ve jumped into January with enthusiasm, a fresh theme and a word, symbol and song to accompany me. This year my word is Enchantment while the symbol for 2019 is the queen chess piece. Putting them together, I am moving through this year as the Queen of Enchantment, using my voice, my words, my heart to create the reality around me.
I’ve not shared my song yet, because I had not received it. That changed a few days ago.
Finding Your Song
Why choose a song for the year? Music resonates with us deeply, at a soul level, whether it’s classical, rock, jazz or techno. We can let go and move to music, surrendering to its enchantment.
“Where words fail, music speaks.” Hans Christian Andersen
Music stirs us and it does have the power to speak, oft times burrowing beneath the chatter and clatter of life. Have you ever been focused on something else…and suddenly a song begins to play that pierces through your awareness? Tears come to your eyes, or a smile to your mouth, and joy floods your heart. That’s being moved by music.
Choosing a song, along with a word and a symbol, gives us a connection with the mystery and the magic of the universe, with the Divine. It serves as another reminder of who we are and who we are becoming as we journey.
How to Choose a Song
There are several ways to choose a song that inspires for the year.
- Make a list of favorite songs. Personally, I feel it’s best to stay open to something fresh and new. However, looking at your list of favorite songs, what draws you to them? Do they have a common theme? Common artist? Is there a particular style that impacts you?
- With that info, use Spotify, YouTube or Pandora to look for similar music. Often these sites will recommend music based on what you listen to and like, by hitting a heart button. Your new song just might appear on a recommended list. Listen to recommendations…and see how you respond.
- This is my favorite way to select a song for the year. I let it come to me. Stay open, stay aware, and ASK for a song. Ask out loud, write the words in your journal, during prayer or meditation, ask. Then release the request and listen. One of my songs came to me during the movie Frozen. Remember “Let it Go”? I had never heard the song before seeing the film. I left the theater knowing Let it Go was my song for the year. It fit in perfectly with the word and symbol I’d been given.
And that is how you know you’ve found the right song…or it has found you. It resonates with your soul. It feels right. You can’t stop thinking about the song or humming the tune.
My Song for 2019
I found my song unexpectedly several days ago, as I drove to an appointment. When I’m alone in the car, I have music playing. One of my favorite things to do is to hit the shuffle button on my iPhone music app…and let songs pop up at random.
A song began to play, from the soundtrack Enchanted. The 2007 film Enchanted is a favorite of mine, an interesting twist on the traditional fairytale. Princess Giselle begins the movie as an animated character who becomes real when she is banished to New York City. The playful movie pokes a bit of fun at the classic fairytale, however it has deeper messages throughout the story that resonate with me.
Suddenly I realized what I was listening to….Enchanted…ENCHANTED! That was an aha moment that drew my attention. Surely my song for the year, with Enchantment as my word, was on the Enchanted Soundtrack.
I listened later to the entire soundtrack, and found my song.
Ever, Ever After
The song Ever, Ever After, performed by Carrie Underwood, snagged me as I listened. I replayed the song, over and over, listening with my heart wide open. The whole song is wonderful, with lyrics that made me smile repeatedly. The words that resonated with me were these:
“Start a new fashion, wear your heart on your sleeve/Sometimes you reach what’s real just by making believe/Unafraid, unashamed, there is joy to be claimed in this world/You even might wind up being glad to be you.”
I knew this was my song for 2019. My heartrate sped up, tears filled my eyes, and energy near my heart shifted. I felt it, my amazing heart that I can wear on my sleeve without fear, without trying to protect it. This song is about believing in an ever after and not getting in my own way. It’s about being who I am and letting myself “be enchanted”. How perfect. The song meshes beautifully with my word and symbol. I’ve already played Ever, Ever After many times.
I’d love to hear from you. Choose a song, a word, and a symbol for 2019, and share them with me. I’ll be enchanted, I’m sure.
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