Music Is Life

I shared this quote, from The Music of Silence by Kafka (h/t The Marginalian), on Twitter the other day:

Everything that lives is in flux. Everything that lives emits sound. But we only perceive a part of it. We do not hear the circulation of the blood, the growth and decay of our bodily tissue, the sound of our chemical processes. But our delicate organic cells, the fibres of brain and nerves and skin are impregnated with these inaudible sounds. They vibrate in response to their environment. This is the foundation of the power of music. We can set free these profound emotional vibrations. In order to do so, we employ musical instruments, in which the decisive factor is their own inner sound potential. That is to say: what is decisive is not the strength of the sound, or its tonal colour, but its hidden character, the intensity with which its musical power affects the nerves. [Music] must … elevate into human consciousness vibrations which are otherwise inaudible and unperceived… [bring] silence to life… uncover the hidden sound of silence.

And then Tom Morgan had to go and add “Umwelt” in the comments.

Umwelt? Wikipedia says,

In the semiotic theories of Jakob von Uexküll and Thomas Sebeok, umwelt (plural: umwelten; from the German Umwelt meaning "environment" or "surroundings") is the "biological foundations that lie at the very center of the study of both communication and signification in the human [and non-human] animal".

Music to my ears.

Or, maybe, music of my ears.

You can always find the emotional vibrations.

I know this to be true.

And if things are not well, you change the vibrations.

I know this too, but it’s easy to forget.

Whenever you’re feeling stressed - it’s just the unwell umwelt welling up.

So turn it up. Play it louder.

If the vibrations are everywhere, you can create your own ripple too.

If you’re feeling good, play it louder. Play it faster.

Music really is life.

We’re organic radios.

All roads lead back to…