Five year old Willow is weeping. She’s misplaced Monkey, her oldest and dearest friend, and can’t imagine how either of them will possibly get a wink of sleep this night without the other. I’ve tried unsuccessfully for some time now to comfort her and with nothing left to do, I light the lantern, place her favorite music by Shana Barry in the CD player, and coax her to join me in the rope swing on the porch. She reluctantly agrees, and perches stiffly on the edge of the swing, tears still flowing down her delicate little cheeks.
As we watch the moon rise over Pocasset lake, we’re serenaded by the stories Barry shares in a voice that exudes so much gentleness and kindness that Willow’s little body can’t help but to relax. Eventually she’s singing along with feeling about a pink whale and of other adventures to be had on the magical island of Fof. And at some point, Willow, a child grieving for her faithful childhood companion, and I, a woman longing for her mother, lose ourselves. We’re free. And here, right here and right now, there is magic.
When the music stops, Willow looks up at me and says in a sleepy little voice, “I think Monkey might be visiting the Fofers. Do you think he’ll be home by morning?” I tell her that I think there’s a very good chance that Monkey will be home when she wakes up, and I resolve once I tuck her into bed to not stop searching until I find the dirty little trouble maker.
Later that night while I watch Willow sleeping with Monkey tucked safely in beside her, I’m reminded that music, that lovely language of the heart, truly is a healer, and I silently thank Shana Barry for sharing her healing and magic…
And I want to humbly remind you, that magic is often closer than you think if you’ll only open yourself up to it…
“Music is:
Bonding with nature
allowing creativity to express itself
refreshment of the spirit
a development of the spiritual within us
getting in touch with eternal flow
resurgence of self
reconvening of life
spiritual bonding
involvement – an ‘at one-ness’ with the rhythm of living.”
Barbara J Crowe
Spirituality, Therapy, and the Good Life 
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