the privilege of a lifetime is being who you are
-Joseph Campbell
I remember my friend letting me borrow “The Bends” during sophomore year in highschool. At first listen to this song, I was really mesmerized by the arpeggio pattern playing in the background, not paying too much attention to the lyrics. But as I grew up and started absorbing all sorts of different literature, I realized how beautiful this song really is.
Eventually, it became my favorite Radiohead track because it symbolized everything I love about them.
Rows of houses all bearing down on me
I remember driving down a street on my way home, and noticing how neatly lined up the houses on my street were. All the lawns were cut and each driveway housed two or three cars.
At that moment, that street symbolized a certain kind of staleness and learned helplessness that most people learn to live in.
Then everyday as I would drive down that same street, I kept thinking to myself, “I have to do something about this. I can’t just let my life be another suburban story.”
cracked egg dead birds/scream as they fight for life
Sometimes we view life as one big struggle. Things happen to us, that at first, we might not understand. But as we view the struggle a part of our bigger picture, we start to see patterns that make sense.
And fade out again and fade out again
This line reminds of the matrix revolutions tagline, “everything that has a beginning has an end.” Everything we go through is just a cycle. The question is, do we make ourselves aware of the cycles in our life? And once we are aware, do we exercise our human endowment of being able to change our cycles?
immerse your soul in love
To me, this is the essence of the song. In order to understand the feelings of staleness, we have to do things we love to do. Life is meant to be spent doing the things that make us happy. Against the struggles we face, when we are doing the things we love, everything is right in the world and our purpose finds us No matter what, you gotta keep doing what you love
what are some songs that have really inspired you to take action?
6 Comments
Hey Rocky.
Good call here about taking notice of the cycles we go through. We tend to repeat them over and over, and they don’t really change until we really see all the parts to the cycle, which is when we start to get out of that cycle, and get into a new one that we have to figure out.
Seeing the cycle is already an important step. It requires some analysis and reflection.
Some cycles that come to mind are:
-not asking questions out of fear when wanting to ask a question
-turning down things without thinking about the benefits
-running from distraction to distraction
Once we know what our harmful cycles are, all it then takes is activity to change it, which a few will do.
Valid messages here.
Armen Shirvanian´s last blog ..Where You Are Is Where You Succeed
I definitely agree people need to spend more time asking questions and less time running from distraction to distraction. I know I’ve been trying harder to be aware which cycles are harmful for me and do something about it.
Thanks for visiting Armen !
Hey Rocky,
One of my favorite songs that inspires me to take action is also by Radiohead. It’s Lucky. So uplifting and powerful – and the second verse is just PERFECT lyrically.
Since your site has a little pickup infused in it, I was wondering whether you’re an RSD member or not. It seems like you’re from RSD for sure… That stuff is all gold – and not just for pickup either.
Have a good one!
Brett ´s last blog ..What I Learned From Being Sick
what up Brett! yea Lucky’s awesome! Radiohead has always been one of the guiding bands of my life.
and RSD’s pretty sweet. when it comes to pickup i am one of those guys that try to learn from everything.
If you haven’t seen The Blueprint Decoded, do it NOW. Seriously. Will destroy everything you’ve ever learned about… anything. Super powerful.
Brett´s last blog ..What I Learned From Being Sick
thanks!