This post mostly is not about dispute resolution.

I just went to see an amazing film, Alive Inside, which was a 2014 Sundance Award winner.

It is a documentary about a social worker whose personal mission is to arrange for people with dementia to listen to music.

The film shows people who were extremely withdrawn and who “come alive” when they listen to music from their past.  Although most of the subjects are elderly, one is a younger man who had been bedridden with multiple sclerosis for years.

It is virtually impossible not to be touched by watching this film.

It describes how the part of the brain that processes music is one of the last parts to be damaged by dementia.  So providing familiar music is a way to activate brains that otherwise are inaccessible.

I suspect that most of us can identify some friend or relative like subjects of the film who are “out of it” but might “come back to life” by listening to music.

As I think about growing older and increasing risk of disease, I want to have my playlist ready.

I just moved into a new house and once again shlepped my collection of records from my college days.  (For the younger viewers, in the old days, they used to record music on large vinyl discs that would rotate under a “needle.”  This produced sounds that often were scratchy and prone to endlessly playing the same “track” if it was scratched.)

I still have a turntable, though I don’t know if it works anymore.  Even if it doesn’t, just having the records with the neat album covers brings back vivid memories of my earlier life and times.

The part of this post that does relate to DR is the determination of the social worker, Dan Cohen, to pursue his mission, which makes so much sense, despite the resistance and indifference of established institutions.

It is an inspiration to keep on pursuing our goals despite skepticism and indifference.

And a reminder to pay attention to the important role of music in our lives and those of our loved ones.