Nuannaarpoq: The taking of extravagant pleasure in being alive

We have access to so many and varied sources of music. The most significant and valuable source for the developing human brain appears to be classical music. More and more articles are appearing about research that shows how the brains of infants are stimulated and enriched by hearing the highly patterned and structured sounds of the great classical composers.

Human beings are hard-wired, scientists now believe, to make music. There’s no culture without some form of music, no matter how primitive it may appear to be. Even as recently as today’s Globe and Mail (Nov. 29, 2006), a segment in the Social Studies column states that when a person hears a rhythm, an immediate and physical response occurs. The music triggers the release of chemicals into the bloodstream that are directly linked to pleasure (quoted from Tom Horan in the The Daily Telegraph).

When I read the Inuktitut word nuannaarpoq in an article by Yann Martel, (Globe and Mail, Nov. 26, 2006), I felt a shiver of recognition, the kind of reaction one has when something is articulated that you didn’t know you felt until you saw it written.

What a magnificent concept this word captures: the taking of extravagant pleasure in being alive. I do feel this way in general often nowadays and find that kind of pleasure in listening to or making music.