2nd Place Winner of the 2015
FFMC Essay Contest:
“Pa-dum,pa-dum, pa-dum...” My eyes shifted toward the TV screen in the Plantation Hospital where I interned. Gripped by the beautiful rhythm, my whole being seemed frozen in time, seeking to decipher the mysterious sound. Steady, smooth, soothing, the beat seemed to unfurl a story. Then it struck me: it was a heartbeat! Yet, it was not just that, it was something much more. The plucking of strings, strumming of chords, and the heartbeat together harmoniously produced a matchless melodic song. Music therapist, Brian Schrek, was being interviewed on this successful work. He indicated that the conductor of this song was Schrek’s patient, Dylan. Before he met his death at age 14, Dylan’s heartbeat was recorded by Schrek and used to compose and direct a captivating ensemble. Through creating music from Dylan’s heartbeat, Schrek was able to preserve Dylan’s humanity in a real and memorable way. Suppressing sobs, Dylan’s parents explained with understandable difficulty their past fear of “forgetting” Dylan. This music helped them in the battle to remember.
Life is in many ways a battle, a constant warfare in the heart. What will be the heartbeat of our survival? In Plato’s Republic, Socrates addresses this issue to the warriors of his just city, “For we ought not to seek out complex systems...but rather to discover what rhythms are the expressions of a courageous and harmonious life; To say what these rhythms are will be your duty...” (Plato’s Republic, Bk III) It occurred to me that we must not cower from the realities of life: war, grief, sickness, death. As Socrates exhorts, we must fight and seek out the musical rhythms that supply courage and harmony to our lives.
The interview continued. “Dylan is working inside of us. Now, we can listen to him whenever we choose to,” his mother stated confidently, her face now serene. Dylan’s powerful heartbeat defeated his parents’ fear. Through music, heart-rending memories can be rejuvenated and recomposed, able to pump renewed love into the soul. The ending music on the program was the heartbeat of Dylan. With his vibrant picture in the background, text scrolled across the screen: “Dylan’s parents listen to their son’s heartbeat every single day.”
It was all so clear to me now. As I listened to the music of Dylan’s heartbeat, I heard it lifting its voice in a drumming, trumpeting battle cry, a victory cry over fear. My duty on my journey was to discover the rhythms of my soul that would lead me to a courageous and honorable life. Just as the heartbeat gives life to the body, music gives life to the soul. Thus, music truly is the heartbeat of the soul.
Life is in many ways a battle, a constant warfare in the heart. What will be the heartbeat of our survival? In Plato’s Republic, Socrates addresses this issue to the warriors of his just city, “For we ought not to seek out complex systems...but rather to discover what rhythms are the expressions of a courageous and harmonious life; To say what these rhythms are will be your duty...” (Plato’s Republic, Bk III) It occurred to me that we must not cower from the realities of life: war, grief, sickness, death. As Socrates exhorts, we must fight and seek out the musical rhythms that supply courage and harmony to our lives.
The interview continued. “Dylan is working inside of us. Now, we can listen to him whenever we choose to,” his mother stated confidently, her face now serene. Dylan’s powerful heartbeat defeated his parents’ fear. Through music, heart-rending memories can be rejuvenated and recomposed, able to pump renewed love into the soul. The ending music on the program was the heartbeat of Dylan. With his vibrant picture in the background, text scrolled across the screen: “Dylan’s parents listen to their son’s heartbeat every single day.”
It was all so clear to me now. As I listened to the music of Dylan’s heartbeat, I heard it lifting its voice in a drumming, trumpeting battle cry, a victory cry over fear. My duty on my journey was to discover the rhythms of my soul that would lead me to a courageous and honorable life. Just as the heartbeat gives life to the body, music gives life to the soul. Thus, music truly is the heartbeat of the soul.