music, therapy, and me

My sister read my blog post yesterday and noted that music is missing from my self-care routine. It is true, music does not feature in my self-care routine. I do not listen to much music outside of my music therapy clinic, and I no longer make music in a community of musicians. So, music is not a big part of my life outside of what I share with my clients. I'm not sure how I feel about this. This is not something new (even the lack of musicking in a community of musicians has lasted over a year and a half now), but it is interesting to me. After a day of handling the emotions of others and navigating the world of music therapy with my population, I need something different to fill up my background. My noise creator of choice is television shows and movies. I have a bunch of things downloaded to my Kindle, so I have company through stories during my commutes. I do not stream music outside of my therapy space, so music is not something that I really use when on the move. Here at home...

Over on social media, someone just asked about whether there were other music therapists who just didn't use music for their own relaxation/self-care routines. I admit that I am one of those music therapists. After making music, putting myself into the music all day long, I can't seem to use it for relaxation outside of the job, and I realize that IT'S OKAY!  I used to feel guilty that my relationship with music had changed. No more. Now I realize that my relationship with music is what it is and does not have any inherent value. It just is. What do I do to relax? I draw. I craft. I write. I read anything and everything. I occasionally pick up my ukulele or my keyboard to compose something for work. I watch copious amounts of television - mainly mysteries or conspiracy shows. I cook a bit. I spend time online, looking at all types of websites for all types of purposes. In addition, I spend lots of time thinking about music therapy as a treatment modality for others. ...