My husband said that when he listens to my current favorite album, he can hear his beard grow.

Because, yes, Israel Nash has the current “it” sound of hipster-chic cool (like beards…sound…um, moving on).

That said, I’m not turned off by that “cool” factor—and this album has the makings of memories driving down the road, wind in hair, heart lifted skyward.

And today was the sort of day that is actually wonderful, but long.

With the sun creeping away and my children’s energy level growing to near-bedtime frenzy, all I wanted was to sway my hips to this album with a glass of wine. So that’s what I’m doing. Only I paused, because I absolutely had to share it with you.

Said album, “Rain Plans,” is the music that I’ll think of in five years and envision exactly where I was in my life right now, with my ears and my heart to the floor, taking in the rhythm of my current emotions. (Actually, the friend that gave me this CD is the one who told me those things you know but don’t quite know—that we must be careful, because an album can become intrinsically tied to where we are in our lives, right now; feelings laid raw and bare along with guitar riffs and swooning, handsome singers.)

But, take a listen, and tell me, too, that this doesn’t make hips sway, souls ache and tender hopes prepare for a dawning spring.

Here are three songs from Rain Plans.

Photo: Album art.

The post Everyone Should Be Listening to This. {New Music Alert} first appeared on Jennifer S. White.

Actually, here’s a picture that I took while sitting down to blog this:

So to honor the cold weather peering around the corner, in my neck of the woods at least, rather than complain about it, here’s a little playlist I put together.

Some of the best snuggle songs of all time.

Enjoy! (And cuddle on in.)

Photos: Author’s own; Flickr/Cuddle Cat.

The post Ultimate Winter-Snuggle Playlist. {Music} first appeared on Jennifer S. White.

For all of us who need to re-charge our batteries, dance in our kitchens and feel the beating of our wild hearts.

This is a playlist made up of a few of my regular spirit-lifters as well as a few songs that are getting my heart pumping right now. (This New Radicals song is currently on repeat at my house.)

Enjoy!

Photo: Shan Sheehan/Flickr.

The post 8 Songs to Motivate & Encourage Wild Hearts. {Videos} 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.