Inspiration Monday - Whitney Houston

I was very happy for Spotify today.  I have been able to indulge all of my Whitney Houston listening needs.  Because as much as I have come to realize my enduring love for Whitney, I have nothing by her in my music catalogue – so I have been Spotifying Whitney all day long.  Now I must admit, up until I heard the sad news of her death, she has not been in my current music queue.   But I realize the she has been a part of the soundtrack of my life.

Music has the unique ability to instantly transport me to the place in time where I first heard or experienced it.    I listen to America or Jim Croce and I am a kid in the 1970’s in the way back of a station wagon, driving home from the beach with my parents,  my skin all crackly from the sand and salt water and I couldn’t be safer or happier.  Whenever I hear Nirvana’s In Bloom or Breed I am 21 and New York City is exploding at my fingertips.

While listening to Whitney Houston today I realized that it transports me to being a teenager in my best friend Vanessa’s bedroom.  We are doing what every teenage girl has done and will do until the end of time – singing songs together at the top of our lungs and sharing secrets and dreams.  I listen to early Whitney Houston and I am brought back to that place of teenage love and devastating heartbreak, and I realized her music was orchestrating so much of that time.

I listened to all of them tonight.  From The Greatest Love of All, (go and listen to the beauty in that song)  and You Give Good Love To Me  to  I Will Always Love You and I Have Nothing. Even though I haven’t listened to these songs in awhile  -  I know all of the lyrics! And I belted them out tonight, just like I always have.   By the time, I’m Every Woman came on, the girls and I were in full on dance party mode.

I love her music for the gift of remembering that being fifteen wasn’t always so terribly awkward as I usually paint it.  It was also moment of freedom and beauty while dancing with my best friend.