The Daily Verse: 365 Meditations on Music

Inspired by Ryan Holiday's book, 'The Daily Stoic', The Daily Verse: 365 Meditations on Music is a humble, insightful, and educational exercise in dissecting quotes by famous people regarding music and their feelings about it, applying it to real-life experience. Designed to read and reflect on one page at a time, feel free to sit back and relax while improving your quality of life. This is the first 10 days of Chapter 1: 'January: New Beginnings'. Hope you enjoy!

January 1st

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the

imagination and life to everything.”

―Plato

In plain and simple terms, Plato is speaking to the intangible element of music—it’s ability to transform us, at our deepest levels, and to transform the world around us. Giving a soul to the universe and life to everything—those are 2 ideas not to be taken lightly. And, wings to the mind and flight to the imagination? It’s as if he is saying that music sparks the greatest creative outlet for us as human beings, all the while providing a safe escape from reality.

January 2nd

“How is it that music can, without words, evoke our laughter, our fears, our highest aspirations?”

―Jane Swan

Jane’s rhetorical question is great food for thought. Her asking of it opens the door for us to explore the reason why music makes us feel the vast array of emotions that it does. There’s something so pure and true about music. Not too many things in life can pull that off. It’s for these reasons why music is so special, and sometimes, even hard to explain why it is. In this essence, it’s similar to the feeling of love.

January 3rd

“If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music.”

―Albert Einstein

This is nothing short of amazing. If one of the smartest people (if not, the smartest) in the history of mankind is willing to admit his love, interest, and regard for music in this way, it’s saying something meaningful. I do, wonder, what he means by living his daydreams and life in terms of music. Does he mean that his daydreams and life have some sort of rhythmic and harmonic, melodic, euphoric element to them? Does he mean that he thinks in a calculated metronomic way, as if following along to a conductor of an orchestra?

Whatever the case may be, I'd like to thank Mr. Einstein for his thoughts on music.

January 4th

“After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.”

―Aldous Huxley

Imagine being in a completely sound-proofed room by yourself with no one or nothing there. No animal sounds, no creaking of doors or floors, no cell phone buzzing, no radio on in the background, no clanking of dishes… nothing. This can be a disconcerting thing for many people, but the secret is to embrace the quietness, the stillness, the peace. When everything and everyone ceases to produce an audible sound, we are stripped of distraction (as that’s what a lot of the noises and sounds around us are) and left to focus on the present moment. This is what I believe Aldous means by silence and music being channels of expressing the inexpressible. It’s hard to say in words why silence is so profound. Maybe because we are so inundated with it on a daily basis that it’s hard to imagine not having it there. And, the same can be said of music. Music has this amazing way of speaking to us in a manner which breaks down barriers and strips us of our preconceptions, leaving us with this sense of wonder and awe.

January 5th

“Where words fail, music speaks.” 

―Hans Christian Andersen

Why do couples have a ‘song’? I'm sure there are many reasons, but maybe one of them is the fact that it’s easier to convey a feeling in a song rather than in a letter or even in a conversation. Music, like love, are intangible things that we try to make tangible. It is in this sentiment where music is able to say something greater, more profound, and beautiful than strictly words would do. This includes songs that have no lyrics. The next time you are feeling strongly about a particular person, pause and think, ‘Would a song capture the essence of this better?’ I believe you would be hard pressed to not find an already existing song that does that. And, if not, you can always write one, and play it for or sing it to them!

January 6th

“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.”

―Victor Hugo

A somewhat re-iteration of the quote from yesterday, it’s worth adding to it. Music is that ‘thing’ that speaks to us when everything else fails. It refuses to be held down. It can be loud and in-your-face and subtle enough to create a meditative state for sleep. It can be just the right vibe at just the right time.

It’s almost like a friend who knows a guy or girl is bad for you, and can’t help but give you their two cents. Music says, ‘Speak now or forever hold your peace!’

January 7th

“Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without.” 

―Confucius

Ever experience 'runner's high’? If not, in short it is a euphoric feeling after a long distance run. A feeling of triumph, a feeling of accomplishment, a weight lifted off your shoulder where you can breathe easy again (both metaphorically and literally). This feeling transports you to another time and place. Now, imagine taking this feeling and multiplying it by ten without having to suffer through physical pain such as a workout…this is what music can do. We would not be able to survive without hope or a sense of something to look forward to. Music gives this to us if we are open to receiving it.

January 8th

“A man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul.”

―Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This is so true. Johann is speaking to the arts: movies, poetry, and music. Without the beautiful scenes and sounds depicted in these mediums, we run the risk of letting the world get the best of us. Between the responsibilities of a family and a career, that can be enough to make us gray early. And, that’s if everything is going right! If it’s not, we’ll end up cynical and jaded, and instead of seeing the beauty of the world around us, we may see it as a place of constant turmoil and negativity. Being that we are made in the image and likeness of God, we have the beauty of the universe inside of us. All of His creation. All of His wonder and awe. Let’s not forget to tap into that from time to time, and even make it a priority!

January 9th

“Music is to the soul what words are to the mind.”

―Modest Mouse

Reading a book can open you up to an entirely new universe, a world within a world, if you will. In reading, we challenge our minds to connect ideas, scenes, and chapters into an entire story which has a beginning, middle, and end. It's an exercise for the brain.

As the old saying goes, ‘Practice makes perfect’. Even though I don’t agree with this 100%, its intention is good. To me, it’s more like practice makes you better. It certainly doesn't make you worse.

Music can be the same way. No one is perfect. We are human. We make mistakes. But, the more we practice a guitar part, a vocal melody, or an entire song, the better we will become at performing it. And, through practice, it fills our minds with imagination and creativity as to how to better execute that part or articulate a thought/idea. It can open us up to many possibilities; new schools of thought that were either dormant or never there, bringing them from beginning to middle to end in a wonderful journey.

January 10th

“A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence.”

―Leopold Stokowski

What a great image this quote displays! Of course, musicians aren’t painting a landscape, but rather a soundscape. Like a blank canvas waiting to be filled with colors and textures, our ears are waiting to hear the beautiful music created by those who aspire to inspire.

To dig deeper into this idea, when looking at an audio file with no words or music happening, you can compare it to the flat-line of a heart rate monitor. However, when words are spoken or music is performed, the audio track fills up quite nicely and even peaks. The track waits for something or someone to fill in the empty, dare I say, ‘dead’ space.

To purchase the full book, you can do so by going to: Book

To listen to the audiobook, you can do so by going here: Audiobook

Have an awesome day!