Music and Nature: Food for the Soul and the Brain

Ever read or see something and think – I just have to share that? Happens to me all the time. Maybe it’s the teacher in me. Anyway… 

This post includes two things I am so excited to share with you.  

“Music lies at the very essence of our humanity because it enables the level of social bonding that distinguishes us from other species. From lullabies sung from a parent to their infant, to mass jam sessions online, we can all turn to song to maintain our sanity, our hope, and our empathy toward one another.” 

The quote above is from a great article called Lockdown singing: The science of why music helps us connect in isolation. It explains why singing together is so important for human beings, especially when we are experiencing isolation.  It talks about how our drive to connect is strong and how our social brain responds so well to singing together. It’s a quick and important read.  

The second thing I’m excited to share is a new and very special nature video created and set to music by our song leader Frank Youngman. Frank is a very talented photographer and he has been watching and photographing an owl family that lives in the woods near his home. I’ve been following it on Frank’s Facebook page and thought you might like it too. It’s been quite an adventure! One of the baby owls fell out of the nest. To keep it safe, Frank built a box nest for it and attached it to the tree. He then gently and quickly placed the baby owl in the new nest. Thankfully, the mother and father didn’t seem to mind and they visit both nests feeding all three babies. The babies are getting ready to fledge soon so maybe we’ll get to see another video as they leave the nest. Enjoy!