For over three decades, the music of Secret Garden has been likened to a meticulously crafted aesthetic system designed to soothe the soul. Its melodies follow the rhythm of breathing, its harmonies are as clear as a lake after rain, and its silences are treated as musical notes themselves.

In an age where our phone screens glow for 18 hours a day, “healing” is no longer a buzzword but a vital need of the mind. The upcoming reunion with Secret Garden in the international community music project Good Morning Vietnam, taking place on October 18 at the National Convention Center in Hanoi, is not just a concert. It’s a collective ritual for mental wellness across generations.

The music of healing

A few years ago, “healing” was still just a hashtag beneath photos of clouds and skies. After the Covid-19 pandemic, it became a daily necessity, something everyone sought after enduring a global crisis. Today, it’s part of a wellness routine, with young people structuring their days around sleep hygiene, balanced meals, light exercise, a few minutes of meditation before work, and a soft instrumental track before bed.

Healing music has become a quiet companion in daily life. It doesn’t demand attention, but it’s always present at the right moment. Secret Garden is among the rare instrumental music projects that, after nearly three decades, remain relevant. Their music is beautiful enough for one to close their eyes, structured enough to anchor the mind, and restrained enough not to overwhelm one’s thoughts. In an era where balance is a conscious lifestyle choice, their compositions are like minimalist interfaces: fewer buttons, less color, minimal noise.

Secret Garden’s healing music does not lull you to sleep; instead, it rebuilds an inner framework so emotions can pass through without sweeping you away. Their pieces, like Song from a Secret Garden or Adagio, often echo through rainy afternoons when people choose to face their feelings rather than avoid them.

In a young generation's wellness-centered life, their music fits three essential moments: as a background for deep work sessions (clear enough to hold focus, subdued enough to avoid distraction), as a 3-5 minute interlude to regulate the nervous system, and as a gentle bedtime cue that signals safety. This soundtrack might start with Nocturne to regulate morning heartbeats, continue with Passacaglia at midday to awaken determination, and close with Prayer at night to tuck away unfinished thoughts.

When repeated daily in regular cycles, music stops being mere background noise and becomes a ritual for mental care. Even in noisy cities and under job stress, anyone can create their own "quiet room" on a bus, in an elevator, or at a café with just a few minutes of violin and piano music.

A reunion of memory and the present

The healing power of Secret Garden intensifies when viewed through the lens of time. For a generation that grew up with cassette tapes, dimly lit cafés, and late-night radio, Secret Garden is a memory asset, with melodies like threads of smoke guiding them back to slow afternoons and nostalgic rainy seasons.

For younger listeners raised on digital music, Secret Garden serves as a mental infrastructure - a background for focused work, a tool for beginner meditation, and a way to help the body relearn how to slow down. These nostalgic and present-day journeys intersect through a shared language: wordless storytelling, minimal lyrics, vivid imagery, and instantly recognizable melodies whether played solo on piano, by a string quartet, or a choir.

When Good Morning Vietnam invited Secret Garden, it sparked a true reunion. The concert promises to become a massive “quiet room,” where thousands find their own world in each note and pause, allowing themselves to flow with the collective rhythm. In that moment, those tirelessly searching for self-worth amid urban chaos begin to heal.

The generation who once sent postcards accompanied by the sounds of Serenade to Spring and those typing under the soundtrack of Nocturne will realize they live in the same rhythm. This intergenerational connection isn’t formed by slogans but by shared presence: a lingering note, a soft exhale, a vibration held in the chest.

Healing, therefore, doesn’t just happen within individuals. It happens between people - gentleness is shared, tension is co-processed. That is where music transcends entertainment and becomes a mental anchor.

The humanitarian spirit of Good Morning Vietnam

“Music for the community” is not just a tagline. It’s the principle that takes healing beyond just one satisfying concert night. Good Morning Vietnam sets a standard where music is viewed as an ethical craft - where audiences know how to remain silent, lighting is timed with care, and volume yields to the right moment.

This kindness centers on mental well-being. But the project's humanitarian aspect is clearer in how it shares benefits and opens doors to aesthetic education. Part of the event’s proceeds support charitable activities, and its media campaign is designed not just as an event notice but as a cultural education effort for young people. When a concert encourages silent listening and invites people to ask, “What am I grateful for today?”, it reflects wellness at the community level.

The reunion with Secret Garden in Good Morning Vietnam will remind audiences that gentleness is a choice - and one that can be made every day: in how we breathe, listen, and interact with silence. When melody becomes the tree, silence the soil, harmony the light, and breath the rain, the secret garden is no longer somewhere out there - it lies within the chest.

Such a garden, if each person tends to it a little, will grow green enough to shield us from the sun. Amid the modern world’s constant warning signals of overload, the most profound meaning of “music for the community” is this: to let the past generations entrust their memories, to give the present a grounding, and to ensure that tomorrow, when the first light touches the leaves, a melody will still guide us toward peace.

Secret Garden will arrive in Vietnam on October 16. Secret Garden Live in Vietnam will take place at 7:30 PM on October 18, 2025, at the National Convention Center, Hanoi. This event is part of the annual international community music project Good Morning Vietnam, initiated by Nhan Dan Newspaper and IB Group Vietnam.

Huyen My