New Year and Change

My eyes are on the high road,

And my back’s facing the sun,

The dark is comin’ and the daylight’s almost gone

But a change is gonna come.

Something’s on the horizon,

Yeah it’s beating like a drum,

I hear it comin’ and I know it won’t be long

But a change is gonna come.

~Katie Pruitt, “Change is Gonna Come”

One of the qualities I love about music is its’ ability to connect us in shared emotions. There’s no question that life gets rough sometimes. We all experience that at some point, regardless of our age or social status or financial wealth or geographic location. Grief, loss, depression, and difficult changes find us all anyway. That can seem especially true at the beginning of a new year. It’s the time when we’re looking back over what’s happened and considering how we’d like our lives to be different going forward. What changes do we want to make (spend more time with friends, improve our eating and sleeping habits)? And what changes will naturally happen (like getting married or having a new baby)?

This soulful, introspective song by Katie Pruitt sums up that life experience. She sings about going through rough times, being knocked down by people she thought she could depend on, and experiencing rejection. But through it all she manages to hold on to the hope that someday it will change. That someday her life would improve. She doesn’t sing specifically about how she knows that, or even what changes she’s making. Only that she knows things will get better.

So what do we do about it??

I think we can all identify with those feelings—hopeless, depressed, rejected, betrayed, grieved. If we’ve lived more than a few years, we’ve all experienced those emotions at some point in time. How do you deal with them? What coping skills do you use? And are they healthy coping skills? How do you manage and work toward resolving those feelings?

Katie Pruitt worked through those feelings by writing a song. Maybe listening to music is a way you could deal with difficult feelings. Exercise is another beneficial option. Or journaling if you enjoy writing out your thoughts. Artwork is another excellent way to help deal with emotions. Talking with friends and family can also be helpful. Find coping skills and outlets that work for you! It’s important to manage and work through those feelings. And it’s important to find some hope for the future, just like the singer in the song.

If you find that you’re not dealing with your difficult feelings in a healthy way, or you’d simply like a professional’s help in doing so, please give me a call. I’d be happy to talk with you about how music therapy can help!
~Stephanie Bolton, MA, MT-BC, FAMI