If you’re missing someone this Christmas this song is dedicated to you

“That’s music to my ears.”

There’s a reason why this expression is particularly popular. Anything one has been told or hears about, if it is positive, pleasant, or simply something that you wanted or needed to hear, evokes an image of pleasure, enjoyment, and appreciation.

It sounds simple, but music is actually more complicated than that. Art, and perhaps more specifically, music, are cultural expressions of people.

It embodies peoples’ views, attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors, creatively manifested in melody and song. Music has the profound ability to evoke powerful emotional responses. Musical experiences are generally associated with positive emotions, generating pleasurable experiences and memories.

It is part and parcel of a person’s life, from the songs that lull babies to sleep, to school hymns and youthful energetic bands that marked the teen years, the raucous music that might have dominated early adulthood, to the more serious, enduring, thought provoking, and classic tunes that mark maturity.

There is music for everything, in good times and bad. They alter moods and relieve stress. Music can be particularly important in moments of extreme, and sometimes extended, periods of emotional distress.

They’re very good for handling huge and unexpected changes in life, such as moving to a new home, getting that much anticipated promotion, or losing a job, and coming to terms with a break-up.

Music is a great accompaniment in life, providing a spark of joy in a celebratory moment, or that right amount of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy day.

On severely dark periods in life, such as the loss of a loved one, sometimes you feel like you fell into a deep dark pit of despair, that you simply can’t climb out from.

The depression that comes from the loss of someone you deeply care about can sometimes keep you in its cold embrace, making you feel numb, helpless, and miserable.

Mending such heartbreak is possible, but that is often a long tough road ahead. Everyone grieves their own way, and takes different paths to recovery. Perhaps the pain of the loss will always be there. But sometimes music can be that little nudge to acceptance and healing.

Some songs can be particularly therapeutic. In the prelude to a song by The Piano Guys featuring Craig Aven, a father shares his feelings on the loss of his daughter, Annie. He talked about the rollercoaster of emotions that comes with the passing of someone you love – grief, pain, fear, and sorrow.

And yet these words do not even come close to describing the brutal time that he and his family went through. The father recalled that the loss happened at Christmas, making it hard to celebrate the season, and perhaps forever attaching a hint of sadness to a usually bright and joyous occasion.

The song, however, expressed exactly what he and his wife were feeling, what they had endured, and had the power to lift up their spirits. In a moment of struggle, the song gave much-needed comfort, which was particularly important to have at Christmas.

So take heart – there may be truth to the saying that when loved ones pass, they may be in a better place.

See the moving video and take solace in the belief that they are at peace and with a higher power.