Since I was a teenager I’ve loved music. It’s mostly due to my older brother Ian who spent many years as a club DJ and who introduced me to much of the music I listened to when I was younger.
Over the years, the role that music played in my life began to evolve, from purely listening for enjoyment, I began to realize that I was using music as a powerful strategy to help me overcome challenges, shift my mood, and move forward. It has become an important self-care tool that I use constantly.
From that, it should come as no surprise that I’ve developed a music playlist for my dialysis. I don’t always listen to it when I’m undergoing treatment, but I listen often enough that the songs have become synonymous with this particular time in my life.
The playlist contains songs that help me relax,, songs that fuel my determination and resilience, and songs that simply make me smile. They range from heavy rock and metal to deeply relaxing, by way of pop, acoustic folk, and a whole lot of diverse music styles. It may seem difficult to think of those widely diverse musical genres working well on a single playlist, but somehow they do. At least, they do for me.
I thought I’d list a few of the songs I’ve selected in each of these categories, so you can get a feel for the playlist.
Songs That Fuel My Sense of Determination
Strong – Amaranthe/Noora Louhimo
Invincible – David Archuleta
Bring On the Rain – Keri Noble
Songs That Make Me Smile
Drive – The Cars
Rush Hour – Jane Wiedlin
Pure – The Lightning Seeds
Songs That Help Me Relax
Breathe (2 AM) – Anna Nalick
Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper
Journey Within – Wouter Kellerman/Eru Matsumoto/Chandrika Tandon
Every now and then I come across another song that feels like a good fit and add it, so the playlist is a living, growing thing. I’d love to hear what songs you would include for these categories if you were to create a similar one, so please let me know in the comments.
The playlist was created on Spotify and I’ve made it a public playlist in case anyone wants to give it a listen.
Here’s where you can find it:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3b6DxFp99ixW2uiYX56Uc7?si=k8rgODgiQcesyrUXX3VoBw&pi=s-G8NM5CSFGUf
My dear Soul Daughter Lois
Please let us speak today any time convenient for you.