Music on a Plane

**I wrote this on my way to the Bahamas in August and forgot to post it. Those dolphins! I suppose this didn't seem so important compared to everything that happened once I got there. But here it is.**

I can’t even count the number of times I’ve listened to the song “Let it Fall Apart” by Helio Sequence while on a plane. Come to think of it, I seem to have a bit of a travel soundtrack. Not in the form of a playlist though. Just some songs that I almost always end up individually selecting when I’m up in the air. And “Let it Fall Apart” is often the first, especially if I’ve just said goodbye to someone or something or someplace, and especially if that goodbye is tugging at my heart even just a bit. And when I pack up and leave whatever city I’m in, when is that not the case?

This song was on my iPod when I bought it off of a friend, in addition to thousands of songs by artists I had never even heard of. I deleted a lot of his stuff, but this one was a keeper. Although it wasn’t really the “type” of music I was into listening to anymore, this song grabbed me. The music itself. The words on their own. And the combination was music to my ears, for lack of better pun.

Call off all of your plans, push back all of your worries, everything can wait just as long as it has to, and it will. You can just let go. And let it rest awhile. It all moves into place. Shake off all of your tension. Give up all of your heartache….Let it fall apart. And come together again. And then it’s not the same….Think back to remember why. How you became so afraid of life. There must be a reason why. You don’t even know. You’re only rising to fall again. You’re lost to be found again. It only ends to begin again. Let it fall apart. And come together again. And then it’s not the same..

Interesting to see now that the line about being afraid of life no longer rings true. But at a time it did. It was around the same time I first heard this song, some time in 2008 or 2009, that I started becoming really aware of my fears, striving towards facing them, releasing them, and living from a place of courage and love. The falling to rise again, ending to begin again, and the constant need to let go, those still ring true.

And then it’s on to the next song. “Cruisin,” the duet re-done by Huey Lewis and Gwyneth Paltrow. I actually like it better than the original, which is a rare thing. This is more often a driving song,but it works on the plane too. A sweet song about music, love, and traveling through life, not just on the road, with someone special. It just always makes me think about how great it is to be on the road (or any type of journey) with someone you really dig and resonate with, whether a lover or a friend or a family member or even a stranger who seems oh so familiar. Or maybe it's just yourself; I do love traveling with myself (thankfully! ;)). It’s like it doesn’t even matter where you’re going or how long it takes, because you’re in it together and enjoying every minute of it. Or at least most of it!

And then my music taste takes a very different, and odd turn to “Drop” by the Ying Yang Twins. Yes, it’s true. And a little embarrassing. Especially considering that I recently asked a new friend in my life to watch his mouth around me! But the thing is, the music really moves me, so I just tune out the crassness. This song literally moves my body so much that I can barely stay in my seat. I must’ve been a Crunk dancer in a past life. Seriously. Am I too old to learn how to dance like that? My body sure yearns for it.

And as I’m bouncing around in my seat, I start laughing not only at myself but also as I imagine what it would be like to travel with my friend Anna. I start laughing out loud even as I write that. If we traveled together, especially with a headphone splitter, wow — watch out world for the dancing queens. "Dancing Queens on a Plane." I see a parody in themaking…

And then "Salt Shaker" comes on, which is not usually part of my travel soundtrack, but I was too busy laughing to start selecting the next song. And then I laugh more as I remember that movie with Sandra Bullock dancing to some other Ying Yang Twins song. I was never a fan of hers, til I saw that. Took balls to make such an ass out of herself. And see?! This is what happens when I listen to music with such a low vibration; I'm workin' up to swearin' like a sailor.

Honestly though, sometimes I wish this type of music was played at Ecstatic Dance, but an instrumental version of course. The beat, the rhythm, is super fun, and moves my body so naturally. I just can't deny it; some of the crassest songs fill me with so much joy!

All that being said, I have noticed that when I’m on the plane ride back from something like a Sheng Zhen training, most of this music doesn’t resonate with me. I still remember the first time I discovered this. After my first Teacher Training in July 2008. I got back from 10 days of heart-opening, got in my car,turned it on, and Ice Cube’s “Back that Ass Up” was blasting on my speakers.Must’ve been enjoying it when I had parked my car, but I returned changed. At least temporarily. I think I got rid of that CD, but still enjoy it on the radio occasionally. Funny how sometimes I feel so sensitive and have such an aversion to something that other times is just fun and enjoyable. What’s that all about?

Surely there are other songs in my flight soundtrack, quite a few more, but the ones above are what I just listened to and what inspired me to write this. And that is that. For now.

© 2012 Rebecca Clio Gould. All rights reserved.