When is listening to music unhealthy escapism and when is it an enjoyable diversion, and is there enough of a difference? Can it also contribute to becoming more human, in the Orthodox sense?

Existentially, I know what it feels like to lose myself in the music. I can get caught up in a romantic feeling and very much resent any intrusion into it. When I went through the Weigh Down Workshop with my former Church mates, Mrs. Shamblin described an unhealthy attachment to food where one enjoys eating alone, in secret, and with a similar resentment of intrusion. This is when food becomes an idol and one is basically cheating on God. She said the proper context for food was a communal meal where one pays more attention to conversation than to the food. When one craves this type of food consumption when alone, one should read the Bible and pray instead. Orthodox eating instructions talk about not letting ones self feel full. This boils down to self-indulgence.

As much as I appreciate the more obvious, soul building ascetics of Orthodox Chant (I’ll try to get to if this should always be in a Church setting), I want to talk about secular music, be it Classical, John Denver and Johny Cash, soulful love songs, or more energetic music like the Romanian group’s dance hit, Dragostea Din Tei (I especially like the folk dance at the end on the plane wing). Much probably depends on one’s individual experience with the music. Different music takes different people different places, sometimes nice vacations, sometimes hellish experiences. But sometimes the music can provide an enhanced energetic experience where one is with the ones one is with. I suppose dance music in particular does this, though with the really romantic or more explicit types (again this varies based on individual experience) one can then use another to help one escape. Sometimes I think we need the extra energy, much like King Saul’s soldiers needed to go ahead and eat the honey to brighten their eyes. But this should be for the benefit of the community, and not for one’s private indulgence. Should one not dance or eat alone? If it keeps a person healthy, others will benefit too. And I think one can prayerfully eat and maybe even dance too when by ones self.

Besides the specific Orthodox hymnography that is uniquely tailored to guide one to uniquely Christian communion, I think there can possibly be a razor’s edge engagement where one can open ones self to any variety of secular offerings. Not for escapism, and not necessarily for energy, but in listening for the echo of God’s image in everyone, which may or may not contribute to becoming more human by one’s validation of one’s unity with all humanity, and that one is not alone in one’s own experience. I’ll trepidatiously leave it at that.