how great thou art

this week, i had a simple, beautiful confirmation of why i am doing music therapy.

it's not about the goals and objectives i spend HOURS writing each week

or the songs i spend all week memorizing and then totally bomb during my sessions...

it is about that

connection

music

forms

in the human heart.

a sweet, sometimes irritable 94-year old woman chose the song "how great thou art" for the group to sing.

as the song came closer to its end, i kneeled next to her, playing my guitar and singing.

i looked into her eyes

and saw tears.

i looked at her lips;

she whispered, "this is beautiful. thank you."

i looked at her heart;

for one brief moment,

the Alzheimers, gone,

replaced with a memory of long ago.

i don't know what that memory was,

but i know that song

meant something to that woman

long, long ago,

and in that very moment that we shared.