Soundtracks
Lakes are perfect places to reset an old soundtrack.
On the way home today, Tift Merrit’s “Mixtape” came on my Spotify playlist, and I was transported back to the days of carefully writing the titles and artists on the thin lines of a cassette tape liner, or on the slick white paper on the front of a blank CD case. I loved making tapes and CDs from my music collection in a way that I don’t love making playlists.
I love Spotify too; don’t get me wrong. I love being able to find anything. The problem is that with so much to choose from, I often feel paralyzed and return to songs that have been on repeat for years, songs worn thin by repetition and no longer reaching me in the same way. But the huge selection and potential for new favorites just send me in circles. I am stuck, and have not found new music that I like or that helps my life in a long time.
I thought about this a little as I started Jon Acuff’s new book Soundtracks. It’s not actually a book about music, but rather about the lines that play in our heads as refrains, and how they are beneficial or detrimental to our lives and goals. The soundtracks we play for ourselves are often so old that the songs have just become background noise, but their themes--that we’re not good enough, don’t work hard enough, will never do well--are never relegated to the background. As an enneagram 1 and a recovering perfectionist, I loved the fresh way that he looks at this tired old problem. Of course I have a voice in my head. Of course it’s often critical. Isn’t that how I’m going to improve?
Well, probably not. Jon described how we can replace these soundtracks that play often unbidden with new soundtracks that reframe our issues and help us not get mired in old patterns, that let us feel confident in reaching for our goals, that help us recognize our own potential instead of all the ways we fail. I was surprised at how I could see his techniques immediately start to play out as I started refusing to let myself get stuck in negative thoughts toward myself.
Jon’s writing style is light and funny, although his subject is deeply important. I both wanted to rush through the book to pick up all his ideas and also to read it slowly and linger over his ideas, considering ways I could use his soundtracks to change the track of my thoughts. It’s such a worthwhile read.
I’m still hoping to discover some fresh new music for my Spotify playlist, but for now, I’m grateful for some new soundtracks to play in my mind.
