Oops, I did it again ...

Oct 21, 2021
2 min read

The first rule of blogging, podcasting, or any writing is to be regular and purposeful. I have failed to do either over these past months.

While I have written in spurts and I certainly have spent an inordinate amount of time thinking and reflecting, I haven't been purposeful or truly connected (beyond some social media interactions). Here is another attempt at something with purpose and, hopefully, value.

I was listening to a song today that "hit a chord" (sorry for that "dad joke"). Our world is pretty traumatized right now and we are all holding on to whatever we can to survive and maintain a certain level of normalcy. This song, "If the House Burns Down Tonight" by Switchfoot has this verse that connected my brain to a recent bit of writing I did. Here are my thoughts.

And all those lies that mattered most to me Were draining me dry making a ghost of me And if the house burns down tonight I got everything I need, everything I need There's a fire coming that we all will go through You possess your possessions or they possess you And if the house burns down tonight I got everything I need when I got you by my side

And let the rest burn

Ashes from the flames, the truth is what remains

(Songwriters: Jonathan Mark Foreman / Timothy David Foreman / Michael Elizondo)

Several things - the fact that holding on to our possessions (or to normalcy) might be a big part of what is traumatizing us. The freedom to let that go ... to believe in the bigger truth .. and to live a contented life, will lead to the truth that remains. This is a hard task, for me, as I have a habit and desire to control my thoughts, actions, and intentions as well as as much of those that are around me as possible. "And let the rest burn .."

Yesterday, while I was sleeping, the thought occurred to me that I have an opportunity - we all do - to rise from the ashes of a life that is burning out of control. Much like the mythical bird, Phoenix, I can and will be recreated into exactly the person I am to be "for such a time as this" ... I just have to be willing to "let the rest burn". Here are my thoughts in verse ..

Phoenix

The ashes of the bird

The ashes of my life

The fire burns to live

it’s fuelled by the strife

The heat of passion lies

In creating and in breath

Even arrogance of power

has no victory over death

Seeing darkness in tomorrow

through the shroud of years

that through the death of life