In this post I’m going to diverge slightly from my usual medical writing to talk about a different part of being healthy and well. So I’m going to ask you to read an essay I wrote this past summer for the Minnesota Orchestra. The link is repeated below after a few introductory comments.
How does music – or art in general – relate to health and wellness?
There is a notion in healthcare that I think we need to explore further. In brief, it is likely true that stress in our lives may lead to health problems, probably via some complex inflammatory changes in our bodies. So reducing stress in our lives is probably a good idea. Art can certainly do that.
But beyond that rather nerdy physiologic reason, I think it is vitally important that each of us find beauty in our world. Our national discourse is so ugly and uncivil that it is making us sick. Our daily lives are filled with screen time, busy schedules, bills to pay, and the daily tasks of life. All of this makes music and art and beautiful things all the more important.
I often turn to orchestral music. I spend lots of evenings at Orchestra Hall in downtown Minneapolis and I am privileged to have met some of the talented people at the Minnesota Orchestra. They have graciously published my thoughts on music on the orchestra’s website and I invite you to read it by clicking below.
For my essay, click on “A Life with Music” at the Minnesota Orchestra website.
I also wrote a piece in August 2016 about my trek to Europe with the Orchestra in which I talk about saunas full of naked people, Beethoven, bicycles in Europe and my thoughts on being abroad with a world-class orchestra. Read about all that in “The Finer Things” here.
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David
