Music Helps Kick Off the New Year in a Positive Way

Over at the blogs I read, there are some great posts which aim to help us get on track for a successful 2009. More on them after I set the scene...

It's 8:42 a.m. New Year's Morning, and the network news shows are broadcasting the same old stories about the Ball Dropping In Times Square, Fireworks Across The Globe, and Resolutions.

But Seth Godin's got one of his short, masterful pieces up, urging us to Take The Lead this year, while everyone else will be falling in line...

Spreading good cheer of a different sort is Gretchen Rubin at The Happiness Project, who charts the Four Tips for Writing Your Personal Commandments. Gretchen also compiles a short list of readers' commandments - the one that hits home for me is "Music Helps."

Oh boy, does it help.

There are works that can float me into summer while I freeze in January.

Others convince me that, in spite of the chaos, intelligence, fairness, and decency are possible.

Some combine forces to remind me that majesty and mystery exist beyond the confines of a 40 hour work week.

A few are impossibly gorgeous, no matter how they're presented.

And then there's one of my favorite movie scores, although I'm not a fan of the film itself. But I'll watch it just to hear the music, which starts with an effective fanfare for the new year's wide open spaces:

P.S. This part is great too...