Musicians and the “bubble of joy”

I know many musicians, artists and other creative people. Most of them feel that this is true:

Inside their art there is a sanctuary. It’s a place where everything is good. Sheer joy lives there. It’s the best place to be. It’s a kind of sphere or bubble, that can wrap a person entirely. No harm can enter. It’s a safe and interesting and amazing place to be in.

When being in that bubble with other people (musicians in a band or singers in a choir for instance) there’s also the feeling of being connected and not being alone. This feels particularly good since it can be pretty lonely to be a human being, not least being an artist.

When is this bubble best? When is it most important to have? 

When there’s pain in the real world, when things are crazy or people are hurting us. How good to have this bubble to retreat into!!

For some people listening to their favorite music or watching a movie is enough, but a musician wants more: Performing the music yourself demands a greater level of concentration as well as a physical output. This helps shutting out everything else and reinforces the bubble. The state of mind, I feel, resembles meditation in a way. When combined with the muscle activity of, say, singing – it might be close to yoga or tai-chi.

This is so powerful and healthy: Like a self-healing through art.

I honestly don’t know where I’d be today without music. This possibility to slip away, and at the same time have a channel to direct my feelings out of me, has enabled me to deal with tough and heavy emotions through my life. To write text, to compose and to SING for hours every day has helped me get rid of heavy burdens of “old shit”. For this I am very thankful.

Schubert composed a wonderful song to a poem by Schober that describes the same gratitude towards the power of music, as I feel. 

Schubert: An die Musik

At this point in my life, being in my “bubble of joy” is not my only reason to sing and perform music: 

When I go on stage I want to bring this feeling to other human beings. I want to share with them my bubble of joy. 

Hopefully the music will make the world a better place for them, too.