I have listened to artists’ music and never known them. They fill my playlist and help the commute go faster. They help me relax after a difficult triage in the Emergency Department. They even give me a home-y “background noise” as I study, write or work. I BUY their music (that’s important to me) but I stay removed from them.

A friend posted this video on her blog. It got me thinking. As a chaplain, I accompany the doctors into the room as the new diagnosis is explained. After the treatment plan is discussed, I usually stay behind to listen and help the patient and family members process a bit.

But never, ever, has the impact hit as hard as this video did.

I am a musician as well as a pastor and chaplain. I was a music therapist (in another lifetime!) and worked with stroke patients. Dieter Zander shares his story, as well as his heart, through words and photography, and, more poignantly, with the music he composed in the days “before”…

In many ways, Dieter’s story reminds me of the long journey from grief to acceptance.

May you hear him – fully.