Skylines and Mixtapes

Do you have a favorite kind of scene in movies? You might love a good high speed chase. The moment when the guy gets the girl might send your heart racing. Or maybe you live for the moment when good wins, and the bad guy is locked in a dark underground cellar to meat his grueling fate, the kind of fate that created that crude saying about karma. (My mind is trailing to The Call starring Halle Berry. Apparently this movie left a mark on me. Watch it. Wait, no don't. I'll let you decide.)

Though each of these scenarios make for a great movie scene, none of them make the top of my list. I lean toward the more overlooked scene, but much more meaningful in my opinion. You'll probably know what I am talking about if you watch many 1990's Romcom's or if you are prone to watch Lifetime movies (Be honest. You have been sucked in by one a time or two). 

In this general scene, the protagonist is sitting in the passenger seat of a car looking out the window. Their hand is usually resting under their chin, and they are lost in their thoughts as the scenery outside the window continues to change. More often than not, the quintessential song to capture their current emotion is playing over the radio, and even though they aren't saying a word, you, being the audience, become lost in the character's thoughts and seem to know exactly what they are thinking. If the character is sad or introspective, it will always be raining, and the track playing will be nothing other than a song that is most likely requested 7 out of 10 nights on the "Love Songs with Delilah" portion of a radio broadcast...either that or an acoustic version of a song that used to make you smile, that somehow, after instrumentals are removed, now has the power to make you cry. In a different variation of this scene, the character will be walking down the street, and the camera view will turn upwards toward the city skyline, an upbeat song will begin to play, and you will see the character realize that they have the world at their fingertips and that the possibilities are endless.

A couple of weeks ago, I was walking to meet a friend for lunch downtown. My destination was particularly far away, so I decided to pop in my earbuds. I turned on one of my favorite acoustic albums and began to walk. As I walked, I began to look up, around, and in every direction. Music filled my ears, and, though I was silent, thoughts began to fill my head. The sky was blue, the only clouds in the sky were puffs of white, and the immensity of the structures surrounding me was overwhelming.  I began to notice the details in the architecture surrounding me, the beauty, the craftsmanship, and the planning it took to get there. As the guitar strings sounded on my playlist, I had one of those moments where I realized how small I am, how big the world is, and how exciting it is that God placed me in a life waiting to be explored and discovered. I couldn't help but wish I had a video camera in hand to capture the reality and essence of that moment. I can only wonder if film makers have had a similar experience which inspired them to create the type of scene I previously mentioned in the movies they create time and time again.

It seems that music, especially in certain situations, has the ability to provoke thoughts and encourage reflection. It is a bridge between shared thoughts in both the past and the present between strangers who never have and never will meet. Listen to the radio for an hour, and you probably will find a song with something you can relate directly to (depending on the station you tune to of course).  Watch your favorite movie or television show, and you will most likely notice that background music is present 80% of the time. We don't always notice it's presence, but we would probably notice it's absence.

What is it about these tracks? What about a mixtape helps us feel like we can better define life, thoughts, and emotions? Here's my take on it. Walking downtown with my earbuds out, I tend to get distracted. I hear a car screeching to a a halt on my right, hear an ambulance to my left, and pick up bits and pieces of conversations of each cluster of businessmen I pass. Walking with music, I noticed, makes me stop. It makes me focus in a way I couldn't otherwise. I feel the emotion within the song and seek to transfer that feeling to what I can see all around me.

Too often, we miss the beauty and the detail in the scenery surrounding us. Too often, we are afraid to shut out the noise and distractions to listen to our own thoughts. I would consider myself to be a deep thinker. I tend to be introspective anyways, however, those moments like I mentioned always catch me off guard.

I hope I never forget how small I am and how big the world my God created is. If I let that slip away, I would forget how much of the world I have left to see. One way or another, I am going to see as much of it as I can. God created a world and a life for each of us. It's waiting. We just have to look around to see it. It might take a song to make you stop, or maybe an intricately designed skyline.

Whatever that trigger might be for you, don't miss those moments God created just for you. Moments to stop, look, and reflect. Deep thoughts interwoven with seemingly perfect lyrics and chords. This is your life, and it's your song. God wrote it for you.

No matter how much we may want it to be, life is not a movie. It's not always a walk through Central Park with the perfect tune playing. There are tears, pain, joy, and surprises to experience along the way, and all of our problems aren't solved within a 96 minute running time.

I think that is ok though.  I don't know what track will play next in my story, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't have to know because he does. He is the perfect conductor and the ultimate storyteller. The scenery passing me by and all that I see around me is no mistake. He placed me right where He wants me to be with the view He wants me to have today to help remind me that I am a part of His world and His story, not mine.