I work as a Chaplain in Hospice. Many of my patients have some form of dementia. Many of them are in nursing homes or adult foster care facilities.

There have been many patients that have had a lifetime of church attendance. They may not be able to communicate or speak anything intelligibly, but if I sing a favorite hymn, they will often sing along to the best of their ability.

A priest I know was talking about the movie “Alive Inside.” It is about music and memory. If you have Netflix, you can see it today. Below is a clip.

For those with a shorter attention span, here is the trailer:

An iPod, headphones, and a playlist of favorite music and it unlocks the soul and frees the spirit.

My patients are alive inside. Your mom, dad, aunt, or uncle are alive inside.

Instead of lamenting their loss, maybe we could go on an expedition and try to find them in the fog.

What do you think?

What is your favorite song? What memories does it ignite?