Yep, so that happened again.

My amazing web guru (the one who is in charge of this site) sends me awesome music links, knowing I love new finds but that I’m not always that great at, well, finding them lately. He sent me this and I’ve been listening to it while writing all week long:

First Listen: Nothing, ‘Guilty Of Everything.’ Click here to experience on NPR’s First Listen.

Because I was a total 80’s child who grew up and lived a gorgeously rebellious teenage youth in the 90’s—in short, I loved raging guitars and Shoegazing: My Bloody Valentine, Ride and Slowdive to name a few.

And since I was a kid of this subgenre, I experimented with a lot of off-trend looks.

I’ve tried not shaving my armpits (that didn’t last long), flannel (duh), any pants with bellbottoms, green mascara, braless tanktop days and a myriad of other things that will shame my husband for admitting in print (we dated as teenagers).

But, oh God, does this musical distortion and the sound of layered guitars set my soul on fire like I was still 15 years old.

Sigh.

Another thing that’s been setting me on fire this week is my daughter’s latest obsession with coloring on her easel.

She woke up this morning and before she wanted even a drink, she sought out her crayons—and I was one proud and happy mama.

And the same auntie that got her this awesome easel sent me this via text last week:

Since it’s absolutely, without a doubt, The Year of the Unicorn, this also lit me up from the inside out.

My mantra for the last few months has been I believe in magic and, let me tell you, it’s been a magical few months.

And I’m randomly throwing this in my blog because I love you and believe that all humans deserve good music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhxXn60Z0yk

I’m also tossing it out there that I get super excited about some of my articles and that I can’t wait to see reader responses after they’ve been published.

My latest piece that brought on this type of sensation was one that went up last night while I was asleep. The Healing Power of Tears: 5 Poignant Quotes to Move Us Beyond Regret was shared on elephant journal, where I write as an extremely joyful featured columnist.  Anyways, it already had two stellar responses by the time that I woke up at 5:30 this morning.

Here they are, copied and pasted:

From Facebook: “This is the best article I have ever read on EJ. Thank you!”

(Um, wow, thanks to you!)

And from a comment beneath the actual piece: “this is really fucking good. and i’m highly critical. i’m going to read more of your stuff now.”

(Although that one made me a little bit nervous, heh heh.)

And here—just because—is another random Shoegaze moment for you:

Aaaaand, another major goosebump share (this one is a complete classic):

You know, what, I’m ending here today—I cannot top this last video.

Enjoy! And happy Monday! Erm, Wednesday!

Photo credits: Author’s own; imgur; Suzanne LaGasa/Flickr.

The post Monday Morning Dirty Secret Spill (Wednesday Shoegazing Edition). first appeared on Jennifer S. White.

My shoulders ache.

My neck is tight.

They’re sore from holding up my tired and aching heart.

The world isn’t always an easy place to inhabit.

It can rub a sensitive soul the wrong way, causing abrasions that don’t easily heal and scars that eventually roughen up—toughen up—but it makes my spirit ultimately more vulnerable—more raw—than before.

Yet this is where the beauty of life lies too—within these tender moments that we can simply ignore and drink through or exercise over or pretend, in whatever way we choose, that they don’t exist—that they’re not happening—or we can nurture and tend to our fatigue—tilling the soils of our spirits—so that we don’t dry and whither, but bloom and rise, with new, green shoots aiming for the sunny, blue heavens.

And I do this as follows:

I cry. A lot.

I mope. From time to time.

I anger. I become agitated. I yoga my shit out.

I move through asanas and sweat inside of my fleece-lined leggings and bright yellow sports bra—until I realize that it didn’t work.

Because it’s impossible to move past discomfort without experiencing it in full.

It’s improbable, also, that we’ll loosen the grip on our problems without first picking them up and growing more than just accustomed to their weight—in order for us to find this burden light enough that it’s nothing now—we can bench press more.

So while I believe in erasing old emotional damage from my muscles through poses on my yoga mat, I also know that there are, equally, days that require my yoga mat to be the mirror of my own stillness; my own idleness; my own fragility. And nothing more.

And here’s something I believe in too: music.

I can dig inside of my exhausted heart and muster the fortitude to wade through murky, churning feelings—through the vibrational sharing of another’s own.

Without further ado, here’s music to hold up a tired heart (and a playlist for days when you’re taking time off from your yoga mat):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0jirlfhyz4

http://vimeo.com/13210965

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjqre-8igAQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqP3wT5lpa4

You’ll likely notice that these songs aren’t all feely-good-pick-me-up-and-rainbow-smile anthems.

No, these are melodies that will hold you, though—right where you are. They will cradle you inside of the current feeling where your heart resides.

Because what’s truly burdensome is pretending to be someone—or somewhere—we’re not.

 “The moment that you feel, just possibly, you are walking down the street naked, exposing too much of your heart and your mind, and what exists on the inside, showing too much of yourself…That is the moment, you might be starting to get it right.”

~ Neil Gaiman

Photo: photosteve101/Flickr.

This article was first published by elephant journal.

The post 15 Songs: Music to Hold a Tired Heart. {Videos} first appeared on Jennifer S. White.