I have been on an epic Depeche Mode bender today. I suppose I turn to my first love when I need to get centered again...when I need to be reminded of who I am and where I come from. I found myself listening to two songs from 2006--"Suffer Well"and "Better Days"--more than others.
The first track speaks to me because one of the enduring themes of my life has been perseverance through emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical tests and difficulties. When they sing "Just hang on. Suffer well. Sometimes it's hard. It's hard to tell," I'm always like PREACH!
I always say that life is like running your finger on top of a barbed wire fence--you have the smooth part for a little bit and then it gets to the part that sticks you. And it hurts. If you're lucky, you feel like this:
When you're there in that space--and we've all been there--there is no greater hell. And, if you stop and dwell on it, you're just going to keep on feeling the pain. The only way to keep moving is to remember that there are better days coming.
"You have seen better days. You have lived better ways." In other words, remember who you are, remember what you're made of, go back to your roots and what makes you feel "it" deep in your soul. Sure, suffer through the pain and grow from the suffering, but don't lose your swagger. You'll need that once things smooth out again and you've got your groove back:
The tricky thing about that analogy is that the smooth part doesn't last forever. You
know that eventually you'll feel those jagged, painfully sharp points under your finger again. And if the barbed part returns too quickly, you'll reopen fresh wounds. It's tempting to become calloused. To stop feeling, to stop caring. But that would also mean that you stop growing, and you stop loving.
I'd argue that every Mode song is about love--or forms of it. Which is probably why I turn to Depeche Mode when I feel the sticky point start to draw blood. To get past the pain, I need a little reminder of what love feels like.
Comments
And I can't wait to see what happens next!!
I believe in you!
I'm glad they're there too. What's the saying? The one thing that's constant is change? That sure is true!
Cubicle Rebel,
Aww, I'm sorry for your tears. I had puffy eyes today--tears which were exacerbated by sleeping on my face and eating tons of salty Thai food last night, too. I was trying ice and spoons to try to make them un-puff. Unsuccessfully. Rock on to you, too.