Topics: Mindfulness
Music is universally loved and not many bad things can be said about music itself. Everyone consumes it in some way or another.
Personally, music is an important part of my life and I tend to spend at least one hour listening to music every day. I like listening to it, as in giving it my complete (or most of) my attention in a given moment, but I also like hearing it, as in having it playing in the background while my attention is on something else.
As my life got busier and busier, I started hearing it more than listening to it. This is how I noticed that, at times and under certain circumstances, music can be a bad thing, especially when it’s too much. Music can:
- Help us escape reality.
- Muffle our thoughts.
- Distract us from the present moment.
These three things aren’t exactly a bad thing at all times, but in my opinion they certainly are so when they’re constant. Being aware of where we currently and what our thoughts are is important, and music can distract us from that.
If there is a problem to be solved and we run away from it by listening to music, then escaping reality is a bad thing. We’re just forgetting about the problem for a while, not making the problem disappear.
Thoughts nurture creativity and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable is one of the most important things one can do, so not muffling our thoughts at all times ultimately leads to improvement in our lives.
Like everything, music should be consumed in moderation. There are certainly many benefits to listening to music, but doing so in excess proves to be detrimental even if we do not notice.