I’d like to share a few tunes that caused me and my groups opportunity for great reflection during the heat wave of last week.
Two songs — similar themes – very different takes on the content.
Song #1 — Hard Sun by Eddie Veder
Chorus: “There’s a big, a big hard sun, beating on the big people, in a big hard world.”
The verses are filled with second guessing oneself, making surprising and upsetting discoveries, turning for comfort and finding disappointment.
How often do we feel this way? The sun in all of its glory, when we have too much of that good thing, it becomes oppressive and painful. What is it like to live with something we know we need, but fear that it can become dangerous at any second?
Song #2 — Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles
Chorus: “Here comes the sun, And I say it’s alright”
The sun is restorative, warming us after a cold winter, returning smiles to faces, melting the ice. It is that which brings life, relief, joy.
So here’s the question. How can we view the sun, even the sun that becomes intense at times, as restorative and life bringing. It is of course, the same sun as always. What is it about our environment that makes it feel so different? What is it about our perceptions, that make the intensity bearable or not?
How do you find a way to live your life in a healthy, well regulated, emotionally safe place? How do you live in the sun of The Beatles, as opposed to the hard sun so eloquently described by Eddie Veder?
I love both of these songs — I can turn to one, and hear the lyrics repeating in my mind’s ear and feel comforted by the shared experience, the shared discomfort, the validation of feeling understood. Life is after all, a big hard sun at times. Then I can be with that for a while, before moving on to the other experience of welcoming the warmth – being thankful even. Sitting in a space of appreciation.
What are you experiencing in your life that you might be able to view in a different light – a light of gratitude? What can you see differently that will better serve you and the people in your life?
Enjoy the musical moments — they are rich and worth taking a moment to listen fully.
Comments