10/16/2025
When Reason Fails, Play Music
In Greek mythology, Orpheus descended into the underworld to rescue his beloved Eurydice. To reach her, he had to pass Cerberus, the three-headed hound guarding the gates of Hades. No reasoning, no argument, no plea could have subdued such a beast. But Orpheus didn’t try to argue. Instead, he played his lyre. The music, soft and sorrowful, reached Cerberus in a way words never could. The creature’s rage dissolved, and he grew calm, docile, almost gentle.
The Greeks were reminding themselves of something deeply human: the psychological power of music and emotion. There are moments in life when we, too, are like Cerberus, furious, hurt, closed to logic. No matter how carefully someone explains the facts or reasons with us, the mind shuts its doors. We cannot be argued into peace.
When we are in distress, friends often try to soothe us with explanations and ideas. They tell us why things aren’t so bad, why we should calm down, why the problem will pass. Yet reason rarely reaches us when our hearts are storming. What might reach us instead is gentleness, beauty, music, or simple , something that speaks not to the intellect but to the soul.
There are moments when the best way to reach ourselves or others is not to think harder but to feel differently. The Greeks understood that begins not in logic, but in harmony.
When was the last time you found comfort not in words, but in music, art, or something that spoke directly to your ?
Painting: “Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld” by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot (1861)
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