Music Meets the Soul

She grabbed my hand and whisked me away through the mossy brush. Sprinkling bursts of sunbeams peeked aimlessly through the low withering leaves. Her grasp was strong for a 101-year-old woman. Each wrinkly finger that I tightly held emanated immense strength and inexplicable wisdom. Her back crouched over as if the weight of the world had found a new home on her shoulders yet she moved with such refined elegance. As I watched her hair flow with every exhale of my breath, I couldn’t help but wonder what fascinating journey was ahead. I held on for dear life…excited…bewildered and yet intrigued. I attempted to speak, to ask how much further, but there was comfort in our silence. As the sounds of our breathing continued to compete with the tender caress of the wind, my heart began to race and suddenly we stopped. There we stood, surrounded by an oasis of large divine shrubs and beautifully lush honeydew flowers freckled with the skies tears. She turned to me, her familiar eyes glowing amidst the silhouette of tall sugarcane stalks. She gave the sweetest smile; every crease revealing years of pure joy.

Here, she whispered in Swahili, “Hapa mahewa hukutana nafsi" - "Here is where music meets the soul. Find your rhythm and you’ve found happiness.” Suddenly, I heard loud drumming - a mesmerizing distant sound getting closer and closer. In an instant, vivacious dancers clad in the most decorative garb imaginable surrounded us both. From a mirage of bright reds and green hues merged with blissful yellows, they all moved with such passionate abandonment.

She took my hand and we began to dance. Every entrancing drum beat dictating my body’s rhythm. As I stopped to take it all in, I finally understood her words. Here in this moment, in my present being, “Here is where music meets the soul." As I immersed myself in the expression of harmony and inspiration under the setting Kenyan sun, I knew this love affair between music and my soul was one that would last forever.