Sometimes we take things for granted. Items, people, health. Then suddenly it is gone and we have none of it. Our friend goes, we find we are unable to do something, we fall ill.
Then we see what we have lost and wonder how we will cope with what we had before but is now gone.
That is when we have to learn again, and this time, hopefully, the lesson leaves a mark on us we don’t forget. We don’t take the friendship for granted, we look at it as a two-way street. We find another version of the item we lost and put it to better use. We learn to live with our new abilities while refraining from calling them disabilities.
Speak to your friends. Let them know how much you care.
Look after the items. Keep them safe.
Look after yourself. It is the only you that you have.
A few years ago, I was posting three times a week with words of encouragement and hope. I ended up stopping because I was posting the same words again and again so I was going over the same things.
Today I had a comment on one of those posts. More importantly on one of the images from a 14-year-old girl who told me that it made a difference to her and she realizes that with her flaws, she is beautiful.
When I first saw it was a comment on an old post, I went to recycle it as spam until I read it. It moved me that something I said nearly three years ago has had an effect on someone today. I am glad it helped her. I hope she continues to see the beauty that is inside her.
There are songs that stay with us over the years, over the decades and across the turn of the century for those us old enough to remember the nineties. Some stay with us because we like them, some because we hate them, and some because they hold a special meaning for us.
Some of these make us remember the good times, and some bring hurt and pain every time we listen to them. As I was listening “What Have You Done” by Within Temptation (featuring Keith Caputo), I started thinking about songs that make me remember smiles and pains. So I thought I would compile a list of songs that held a significant meaning in one way or another for me.
Football’s Coming Home – Five Lions This was in the charts twice. Once in May 1996, and once in June 1998. Both at the time my children were born.
Not Afraid – Eminem When I moved in with someone who turned out to be completely the opposite of who I fell for, I needed something to keep me going while I tried to find a way to get my kids and myself out of that situation.
Angels – Within Temptation In the same situation as above, with the woman I moved in with, this song explains exactly how I felt, and how I felt she saw me.
Because of You – Kelly Clarkson When I split from the mother of my children, I felt I would never find love again. I was too afraid to give myself to someone fully for fear of being shredded again. I did get over this fear long enough to fall for someone. Only to get shredded.
I Get Knocked Down – Chubbawumba “I get knocked down, I get up again, Ain’t nothin’ gonna keep me down” Explains the meaning behind this one and why it holds a place for me.
Nothing Else Matters – Metallica This was my wedding song. The first dance I had after getting married in 1995.
All I Need – Within Temptation I went to see these in concert with my then wife, and we had what I felt was the best time until I found out she didn’t enjoy it that much at all.
Stand My Ground – Within Temptation No matter what happens, there will always be someone to take up the mantle of something. Whether it be hope, love, life, or whatever. I will stand my ground.
Coward of the County – Kenny Rogers I chose this one by Kenny Rogers although I could have chosen any by him. When I was a lad, I used to hide in my room and listen to the tapes and records (vinyl disks you put on a turntable and needle would go in the grooves and play the music out of speakers) of Kenny Rogers in the hopes of hiding from everything and everyone.
Everybody Hurts – R.E.M. This reminded me that there are people worse off than me.
Streets Of London – Ralph McTell The people who are forgotten. This always makes me think of the people sleeping in shop doorways. Those who have lost everything. I can only hope they get at least some of it back.
Cats In The Cradle – Ugly Kid Joe version After hearing this song, I vowed I would never have my kids ending up like this and seeing me as someone never there for them.
These are a few that hold a special meaning to me for one reason or another. There are others which hold more private reasons for good or ill, from the highest point to the lowest of the low points where I felt there was no hope. (And there is always, always hope even if you don’t see it at the time).
"Here is my secret. It is very simple: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.."- Antoine de Saint Exupéry
because reading also involves the way your head rests on your hand as you lean over a book, the damp mark you leave on a page when reading in the tub, or being interrupted by a
