Rhythm and music

I'm here to talk to you out of a dream. That's where this speech was made- in a dream before hundreds of people, standing up on stage, asked to fill in some time while performers are organized. (Do not ask me why this was requested of me, as I am neither a good performer nor a good public speaker. Also, normally I do not remember my dreams, but these words stayed in my mind for a day and a half.) I stepped forward. Standing before those multitudes of faces, I held music in my hands. It had no identifiable shape or form, but it was there in my hands all the same. 

I stared out to the crowd, holding music, and I said this:

My friends, I am here to talk to you about music. You are all here for the purpose of listening to music, but do you know its importance? We take delight in a good song, in well-constructed notes or pitch-perfect voices. Yet music is more than this. A song might be technically perfect, and yet people may pass it by, because it is missing something. There is more to music than technical perfection. 

You see, music is a distinct and un-overlook-able part of life. Have you ever found yourself matching your steps to a beat? Have you ever whistled a nameless tune? Can you hear the music everywhere? It is everywhere, you know. Can you see it here? 

Music, you see, is in more than the instruments we make. The earth is filled with musicality. Music is in the creaking of the old oak trees as they groan back and forth; it is in the wind that disturbs them. Music is in the thunder of horses galloping across the fields; it is in the quivering grass beneath their hooves. There is music in the cooing of a newborn and the returning murmurs of his mother. It is there in the thunder and the lightning; it is there in the soft snowfall. 

Music is the soul's expression of what is most beautiful and good in life. It is a reflection of God, Who is most beautiful and most good. We listen to music and, as Beethoven said, it strikes fire into our hearts, and brings tears to our eyes. Through music, we can laugh, or cry, or vent, or share our delight. Music speaks the words that would otherwise remain unspoken. Listen and hear those words. 

Thank you.