program v. absolute

AS i sit here, listening to the rain, I start to think about program music. Not the most romantic opening sentence, huh? Anyways, it has to do with my recent analysis of the "Raindrop" Prelude. Chopin did not give it that name, but once you hear it, there is no way to escape it. The only other choice is to embrace it. Because "Raindrop" does not confine us to precipitation - we can feel the warmth of being inside and cozy on a rainy day, or the way the rain can depress us. How it can evoke brooding or sentimentality. In fact, this prelude is very Beethoven-esque, it has that internal quality of self-reflection, of being trapped in your own emotional mind. I just inadvertently brought up another philosophical topic: emotions vs. the mind. They are one in the same, I think. It is all interconnected, and I am not devoting much thought to trying to separate them.
But the absolutists say a Symphony, without any title can be anything we want. Classical music is so difficult to relate to, though. It is so easy to passively hear it without listening. Maybe programs help us connect with it, those of us who aren't great masters or trained professionals. hmmmm.