Stepping Out

Placing the Mendelssohn back down, you slide the Beethoven record onto the turn table and carefully drop the needle.

Grampy’s old headphones, those 1980s “hi-fi” monstrosities, surprisingly still work, and sound amazing. You sit back on the couch, close your eyes, and your world changes.

You see yourself stepping outside your door. The real-world storm raging outside is nowhere to be seen as you take your first steps into a valley filled with lush, waist high grass. To your right, wildflowers slowly awaken, as if you are their sun.

You walk further out into the pasture, feeling lighter and more relaxed with each step. You pass a brook, birds cooing from nearby bushes, and you hear what sounds like a party off in the distance. You consider wandering over, but stop yourself. Who’s got the energy to talk to other people right now? As if.

Besides, there is a whole world to explore.

As Beethoven’s music continues in your headphones, your mind begins to wander further, urging you forward. You imagine yourself making your way towards the far-off mountain range, meandering here and there, and taking shelter beneath a mighty oak tree while Beethoven’s musical storm rumbles by.

The symphony soon comes to an end.

Your heart tells you it needs more. Eyeing the stack of records, you know you really have only two options.

Do you soar through the skies with Vaughn Williams’s “The Lark Ascending?”

or

Would you rather hit the mountain trail with Copland’s “Buckaroo Holiday?”