Don't worry, I'm not actually dying. I'm perfectly healthy. These are just lyrics from the song 24 by Jem.
As you might expect from the title, this song is about someone who only has a day left to live and is trying to set things right for after they're gone. I've heard this song many, many times. It always makes me wonder what I would do in this situation. Would I try to mend broken bridges with people in my past? Would I want to spend my time with those I love? Maybe, on the other hand, I would go live a day of absolute crazy fun? After all, if you only have a day left, even if you're caught by the police, it's not like you could be punished.
In the end, I don't think I can answer this question unless (until?) I'm in this situation. Most people don't get to know exactly how long they have, so it's unlikely I'll know exactly which day is my last. Still, I think it's interesting to think about.
Here's the song (lyrics in the video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKgxkxbxI7Q
Monday, August 29, 2016
Thursday, July 14, 2016
I won't become the thing I hate. I won't become you.
I almost used this song in my last entree when I talked about the shooting at Pulse in Orlando, Florida. Alas, there has been another shooting, and I think it is finally time to use this song. It's called "The Thing I Hate" by Stabbing Westward.
As mentioned above, there was another shooting. This one was in Dallas, Texas. Due to how close it was to me, it hit me really hard, so it took me a week to gather my thoughts into a coherent message.
At a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas, a lone shooter, from an elevated location, opened fire on Dallas police. He shot intentionally at police, especially white police. He killed 5 cops and injured 7 more. 12 men and women who only wanted to help others. 12 men and women who, despite knowing the risks, put on that badge every day and risked their life for the betterment of those who can not or will not do the same. Almost half of them paid the ultimate price; those very lives they risked on a daily basis.
In the end, he got trapped by police. Even trapped, out gunned, and out numbered, he refused to give himself up, so the police put a bomb on a robot, drove the robot close enough, and detonated the bomb, killing the terrorist. Yes, just like the man who shot up the Pulse night club, and the man who shot up a theater in Aurora, Colorado, and the man who went into Sandy Hook Elementary, this man who shot 12 police was a terrorist. I feel no regret for his death.
What I do feel is anger, and this song is good at expressing the rage that I feel every time I think about this. I imagine it's the same rage he felt after the other shootings, by police, that occurred last week. It burns white hot, and I can understand how that rage might drive a man to perform evil deeds, wrongly thinking that not only are those deeds justified, but that they are the only path available to a person.
We all have things that make us furious. Events that make us see nothing but red. However, what we do with that rage is up to us. We always have options. We could take the path of self-righteous indignation and go on a shooting spree, justifying it as vengeance. That is a lie, though. There is no vengeance in killing innocent people. That is only murder. We could sit in our own little worlds, pretending nothing is wrong. Bury our heads in the proverbial sand and hope things will get better. They won't unless people step up to make things get better, though. Ignoring the problem is a cowards way out. Another option is to step forward, be a force for good, do what we can to make things better. For some, that might be joining the police force. After all, the Dallas Police Chief said they are always hiring and will happily take anyone who wants to make things better. For some, that might mean go on peaceful rallies, calling for change.
I can't do those things, so I do what I can. I can spread my thoughts. Put into words how I feel, try to talk people into seeing things in a better light. There is power in words, and that is where my personal power lies. So, I stand up, and I say, "I won't become the thing I hate. I won't become you."
Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZS6578SySs
As mentioned above, there was another shooting. This one was in Dallas, Texas. Due to how close it was to me, it hit me really hard, so it took me a week to gather my thoughts into a coherent message.
At a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally in downtown Dallas, a lone shooter, from an elevated location, opened fire on Dallas police. He shot intentionally at police, especially white police. He killed 5 cops and injured 7 more. 12 men and women who only wanted to help others. 12 men and women who, despite knowing the risks, put on that badge every day and risked their life for the betterment of those who can not or will not do the same. Almost half of them paid the ultimate price; those very lives they risked on a daily basis.
In the end, he got trapped by police. Even trapped, out gunned, and out numbered, he refused to give himself up, so the police put a bomb on a robot, drove the robot close enough, and detonated the bomb, killing the terrorist. Yes, just like the man who shot up the Pulse night club, and the man who shot up a theater in Aurora, Colorado, and the man who went into Sandy Hook Elementary, this man who shot 12 police was a terrorist. I feel no regret for his death.
What I do feel is anger, and this song is good at expressing the rage that I feel every time I think about this. I imagine it's the same rage he felt after the other shootings, by police, that occurred last week. It burns white hot, and I can understand how that rage might drive a man to perform evil deeds, wrongly thinking that not only are those deeds justified, but that they are the only path available to a person.
We all have things that make us furious. Events that make us see nothing but red. However, what we do with that rage is up to us. We always have options. We could take the path of self-righteous indignation and go on a shooting spree, justifying it as vengeance. That is a lie, though. There is no vengeance in killing innocent people. That is only murder. We could sit in our own little worlds, pretending nothing is wrong. Bury our heads in the proverbial sand and hope things will get better. They won't unless people step up to make things get better, though. Ignoring the problem is a cowards way out. Another option is to step forward, be a force for good, do what we can to make things better. For some, that might be joining the police force. After all, the Dallas Police Chief said they are always hiring and will happily take anyone who wants to make things better. For some, that might mean go on peaceful rallies, calling for change.
I can't do those things, so I do what I can. I can spread my thoughts. Put into words how I feel, try to talk people into seeing things in a better light. There is power in words, and that is where my personal power lies. So, I stand up, and I say, "I won't become the thing I hate. I won't become you."
Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZS6578SySs
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
I sit and I wait and I stare. Still wishing for a divine intervention to lift me from my chair.
I had a hard time deciding what lyrics to use this month. With a mass shooting earlier this month in Orlando, then a bombing today in Istanbul, it was hard not to go with a song of anger and hatred. I didn't want to fall into that trap, though, so I went with a different approach. This song is called "Saw Something" and it's by Dave Gahan, who is better known as the lead singer of Depeche Mode. The song in its entirety is about waiting for a past girlfriend to take him back, but I'm taking these lyrics and going a different direction with them.
How many of us have been guilty of this? Guilty of just sitting around, doing nothing useful, waiting for life to become...better. I know I have certainly been guilty of it in the past. I did it for about ten years, waiting for the life I wanted to arrive. I passed the time with video games, movies, and friends. While I certainly don't regret the time with friends, I wish I had done something more with my life.
In another way, I feel like most of the world is doing this. When we turn on the news, what do we hear? Death, hatred, destruction, war. It's almost entirely negatives, and now even our politicians are doing the same. It's all very depressing, and the longer this goes on, the more it seems society is just...waiting. We're waiting for the negativity to pass. We're waiting for the death and war to end.
We need to stop waiting. As a society, as a country (or multiple countries), we need to rise up and say, "Enough is enough! We want an end to the negativity and depression. We want our world to be a better place for our children and grandchildren!" Don't fall into the mental trap that one person can't change the world and then just give up. We can all make individual changes. For example, I am going to change the world by being more accepting and loving of those who are different than I am. Muslim or Christian, Republican or Democrat, European or American or Asian, black or white, gay or bi or straight. It doesn't matter what labels we assign to people or how they differ, I am going to accept them for who they are.
Divine intervention will never come if all we do is sit and wait and stare. It's time to make a difference.
Here's a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWfiUSAuw8Q
How many of us have been guilty of this? Guilty of just sitting around, doing nothing useful, waiting for life to become...better. I know I have certainly been guilty of it in the past. I did it for about ten years, waiting for the life I wanted to arrive. I passed the time with video games, movies, and friends. While I certainly don't regret the time with friends, I wish I had done something more with my life.
In another way, I feel like most of the world is doing this. When we turn on the news, what do we hear? Death, hatred, destruction, war. It's almost entirely negatives, and now even our politicians are doing the same. It's all very depressing, and the longer this goes on, the more it seems society is just...waiting. We're waiting for the negativity to pass. We're waiting for the death and war to end.
We need to stop waiting. As a society, as a country (or multiple countries), we need to rise up and say, "Enough is enough! We want an end to the negativity and depression. We want our world to be a better place for our children and grandchildren!" Don't fall into the mental trap that one person can't change the world and then just give up. We can all make individual changes. For example, I am going to change the world by being more accepting and loving of those who are different than I am. Muslim or Christian, Republican or Democrat, European or American or Asian, black or white, gay or bi or straight. It doesn't matter what labels we assign to people or how they differ, I am going to accept them for who they are.
Divine intervention will never come if all we do is sit and wait and stare. It's time to make a difference.
Here's a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWfiUSAuw8Q
Monday, May 9, 2016
Can you rise from the dirt? Can you love like you´ve never been hurt? If you´ve been hurt, can you still believe? Can you set your spirit free?
It's been a long 5 years, and a lot has happened to me personally. However, this blog is not to talk about my life, but to talk about music. Not surprisingly, I have discovered a lot of new music in the last 5 years, and today I would like to share one of those songs. The name of the artist is Eivor, and the song is called Undo Your Mind.
Like most music I listen to, the true meaning of this song is difficult to pinpoint and the best I can offer is my own interpretation. Despite the song having a slow pace and being in a minor key, I actually believe this song is full of hope for the future. The lines I chose for the title come late in the song, but they describe how I have always attempted to approach new relationships. While I'm the first to admit that I haven't always been successful (at times even failing horribly), it has always been my goal.
When a relationship fails, I feel like you're been dumped into the dirt. I feel like I have failed personally and belong there. Eventually, though, I need to pull myself up. Rise up from the dirt. Then comes a new relationship, and the difficult parts. Loving like I've never been hurt, when I have been hurt badly. More than once. Sometimes it's difficult to remember that the person I am with is different than those who have hurt me in the past. It's hard to believe in them and that things will be different. However, when I manage to do so, it really is like setting my spirit free.
I am seeking that again. Someone who can help me get up from the dirt, who can forgive me if I slip up and don't remember that they are not those from my past. Someone who will help me believe and can set my spirit free. I'm sure she's out there. I feel she's close. This thought gives me hope for the future.
Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKDbYonKAbw
Like most music I listen to, the true meaning of this song is difficult to pinpoint and the best I can offer is my own interpretation. Despite the song having a slow pace and being in a minor key, I actually believe this song is full of hope for the future. The lines I chose for the title come late in the song, but they describe how I have always attempted to approach new relationships. While I'm the first to admit that I haven't always been successful (at times even failing horribly), it has always been my goal.
When a relationship fails, I feel like you're been dumped into the dirt. I feel like I have failed personally and belong there. Eventually, though, I need to pull myself up. Rise up from the dirt. Then comes a new relationship, and the difficult parts. Loving like I've never been hurt, when I have been hurt badly. More than once. Sometimes it's difficult to remember that the person I am with is different than those who have hurt me in the past. It's hard to believe in them and that things will be different. However, when I manage to do so, it really is like setting my spirit free.
I am seeking that again. Someone who can help me get up from the dirt, who can forgive me if I slip up and don't remember that they are not those from my past. Someone who will help me believe and can set my spirit free. I'm sure she's out there. I feel she's close. This thought gives me hope for the future.
Here's a link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKDbYonKAbw
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