Music as Therapy
What is it about light that gives things a surreal beauty?
There’s an ordinary oak outside my window. It’s gnarly and has lived through quite a few hurricanes. The sturdy old thing isn’t the most exciting tree by any means. There’s no Spanish moss draping its branches. Its limbs are repeatedly chopped off like a bad at-home haircut (and no matter how bored you are at home right now—just don’t. Trust me).
A seemingly uninspiring tree. Then, at sunset, when the sun's rays rest on it at the exactly the right moment, the tree blushes with a newfound grace. It’s transformed into a thing of beauty.
I can’t help but think that when the Son’s light shines on us, we’re transformed and given the grace to bring His beauty into the world.
It’s not that we’re called to bring out mirrors and reflect that light in a blinding glare to those around us. We won’t attract anyone to God that way. But if we allow His light to rest on us—like a rosy glow on an old tree—then we’ll reflect His glory simply by being who we are meant to be.
I feel incredibly blessed to have met so many beautiful individuals reflecting God’s goodness in their own lives. Creatives who use their gifts to serve their communities, as instruments of God’s hands.
Music Therapist Katherine Lantigua
Speaking of instruments brings me to Katherine Lantigua. It’s difficult to picture Katherine without an instrument because she’s a music therapist. Katherine recently shared tips at Rise and Create on using music to help with quarantine-related stress.
I met Katherine before she became board-certified. She was a grad student who organized music ministry retreats for youth. She promised that I, too, could learn to play an instrument. I remember looking at her dubiously as I plucked at ukulele strings off-key at a dinner party where we all HAD to take an instrument and jam along. Did she know what she was getting herself into when she made that offer?
I didn’t want to waste her time, but Katherine insisted. That’s who Katherine is—she’s ready to serve you. Even if you have no music ability (yet), she wants to help you find joy through song. (For the record I did manage to learn a chord that day. Also, I’ve already forgotten it–but only because I didn't practice like she recommended).
Katherine sees in each and every person the dignity and worth they are due as God’s children. Her specialty is serving pre-and-post-partum mothers, premature babies, and young children. Katherine believes that maternal mental health is often overlooked.
“There's so much that's not being told,” she said. “We should enter into their chaos [to help them], instead of brushing their issues aside.”
With the craziness of coronavirus, Katherine’s job as a music therapist took a different turn. Like many others, she’s had to digitize. Katherine recently stepped boldly into the new-to-her world of tele-health and video production to offer clients, parents, teachers and healthcare workers bilingual mental health resources. She's armed with new adaptors, plug-ins, cables...and she's learned all of this in the last couple of weeks. She's pulling all the stops to make sure her clients get the quality sessions they deserve. That’s how much her clients really matter to her.
Even if you’re not a mom, I recommend checking out Katherine’s blog posts. She has resources that can help most, if not all, people. Katherine believes that there are a variety of ways each of us can use music in our daily lives for wellness and wholeness:
“Whether you decide to engage in music listening, songwriting, singing, or instrument play, each is a valuable opportunity to grow, learn, and explore the richness of who you are in your mind and body and your own unique capacity for human creativity.”
To me, Katherine is a beautiful example of what it is to use one’s creative gifts to serve others. I am edified by her witness of making the most of life’s curveballs (looking at you, COVID), and taking the opportunity to be a light in the lives of others—even if it means stepping out of your comfort zone to learn a new way of doing things.
You can learn more about Katherine and her work at promusictherapy.com and on Facebook.
Blanca Morales is the creator and curator of @rise.and.create, a social media account dedicated to highlighting how creatives are sharing beauty during the coronavirus pandemic. You can reach out to her on Instagram at @pursuingloveliness.
Blanca Morales