Experiencing Joy

Commentary by Ben Bowen King

"Wedding Dance"
by William Gokelman
from Steal Away

Psychologists say that for some reason the human brain has a propensity to dwell on negative rather than positive thoughts. That means we have to put extra effort into abandoning ourselves to life’s joyful moments. 

Composer/pianist William Gokelman has played his share of weddings over the decades.  Traditionally, weddings are one of the happiest days of our lives,  and Gokelman has reflected those unbridled emotions of joy in “Wedding Dance.”  Yet since this is an instrumental composition, it can reflect any type of joy—a beautiful day, a birth, a “good-news” diagnosis.


PRACTICE
Put everything else out of your mind for the eight-minute duration of this composition and think about times when you have experienced the type of unbridled joy reflected in the music.  Revel in the emotions and memories.  File away the sound clip to play the next time negative thoughts make a “power play” for your emotions and moods.


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