Each year, as February rolls around, I keep an eye out for certain songs that speak to that all-encompassing emotion we call “love”. You see, my favorite kind of song is the universal, archetypal one, one that expresses that word’s deep meaning (in all its glory and pain). With the backdrop of Russia’s reckless and unjust war against Ukraine going on in my headspace, I kept searching for a certain meaning as I kept retooling and selecting for my latest Digging Deep mix for LYL Radio.
I kept asking myself this question: What is intimacy? The Oxford Dictionary defines it as, “close familiarity or friendship; closeness.” The fine line that divides what makes our connection with that other person strictly sexual, platonic, or emotional, has gradients (all based in love).
Just how much we’re able to expose of ourselves physically, mentally, or emotionally, to that other person, arguably, will define what kind of intimacy we have with each other. Are we prepared to share our caress? Are we prepared to be completely honest with our pleasures, dreams, dislikes? Are there things we keep in silence? Are there questions that only that other person can answer for us? These are but a few ruminations, I think, we use to assess just what that other person means to us.
You see, I think in trying times — those where such connections are really put to the test — a certain kind of love stills defines the strength we draw from each other. It’s what keeps us hanging around. We were vulnerable once, in a way that allowed others to come close to us, to embrace us in those arms of love. The fine line that resolved whether we allowed you to enter, as a friend or foe, was drawn out of a special power.
Here’s to a bit of music speaking to a real strength in numbers…
The Arms Of Love
Tracklist:
Jay H. Alanski: This May Be… (The Story Of My Life)
Ish: Let’s Make Love
Ilse: La Vida Se Nos Va
Muzak: Mujeres Enamoradas
Gloria Estefan: Si Voy A Perderte
Al B. Sure!: Noche Y Dia
Anna Mcmurphy: Deeper And Deeper
Keith Thomas: Arms Of Love
Naoko Kawai (河合奈保子):あの夏をもう一度
Eleanor Academia: Kiss The Moon
Jon Secada: Stay
Juan Luis Guerra Y 4.40: Burbujas De Amor
Hatsumi Shibata (しばたはつみ): Mr. J.