One day while meditating, I saw my grandmother (who recently passed away) as a little girl.

She was clutching her knees on the floor, frightened.

I asked her what she was afraid of.

“The monster,” she said as she pointed to a small box in the darkest corner of the room.

“Interesting” I thought, I wonder what the monster is.

I asked her,

“Would you like to go look together?”

So we walked over to the box.

She had never opened it.

She had spent her whole life afraid of the monster hidden away in the corner of the room.

We lifted the lid.

Instead of a monster...

A splendrous phoenix burst out!

Its feathers shimmered with a gorgeous deep red color with a touch of gold.

As it flew around us, it released translucent, rainbow-colored tears that appeared to float around the room & sparkled in the light.

It was breathtaking, one of the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen.

At the time I felt that the phoenix represented abundance.

And that that was what my grandmother had always been afraid of.

Several moments later, my grandmother was now a radiant 18 to 20-year old young woman.

She was smiling and radiating so much joy.

It was a joy to be with her.

I awed at the transformation.

It was certainly a transformative experience for me.

Later, I came to realize something else inspired by a quote from A Course In Miracles.

Nothing you understand is fearful. ³It is only in darkness and in ignorance that you perceive the frightening, and shrink away from it to further darkness. ⁴And yet it is only the hidden that can terrify, not for what it is, but for its hiddenness. ⁵The obscure is frightening because you do not understand its meaning. ⁶If you did, it would be clear and you would be no longer in the dark. (ACIM, T-14.VI.1:2-6)

The longer something remains hidden, the easier it is for our minds to fill the darkness with terrifying stories.

Sometimes we’ve spent years protecting ourselves from something we’ve never even looked at.

Sometimes entire families inherit that fear.

And sometimes...

What’s waiting behind that fear isn’t something dangerous at all.

It’s something beautiful.

=====================

Initially I thought, oh, that makes a lot of sense, it explains my grandmother’s behavior, she was afraid of abundance.

But since then, that experience has changed how I think about transformation and fear.

Most people don’t need someone to tell them what to believe.

They need someone willing to stand beside them while they open the box.

Not because anyone knows what’s inside.

But because understanding & overcoming fear only begin when we’re finally willing to look at what we’ve been too afraid to observe.

And I think that that’s what courage really is.

It’s not literally defeating the monster.

But discovering whether there was ever a monster there in the first place.

Start

[Open book: I’ve cried multiple times this week listening to this song while preparing this post]

What the heck is going on with this song?

It hurts so much & yet feels so good.

I love the piano melody at the start.

The chords & the vocals just pull you in & immediately create a strong emotion.

Soft, yet a little uncomfortable & deep.

It somehow reaches into the emotional cracks.

And it grows as the lead singer John Martin Lindström tells his story.

There was a time
I used to look into my father's eyes
In a happy home
I was a king, I had a golden throne

Things were good.

He was happy.

Confident.

Then the musics build because it all changes.

The bass and percussion add to the picked-up movement of the song.

Those days are gone
Now the memory's on the wall
I hear the songs
From the places where I was born

It elevates even more.

In comes harder percussion.

Expressing more pain.

More hurt.

The tension grows & sets the stage for the painful, game-changing moment:

Up on a hill across the blue lake
That's where I had my first heartbreak

Pain.

Emotional pain

Then…

Who came to the rescue?

Who showed up?

Dad.

(Whose eyes the author looked into in the 2nd line of the song.)

Even when his son was far away.

Even when his son gets lost.

He was there.

Lost Dad

That’s the part that hurts a bit.

As Dad doesn’t always show up.

Sometimes he’s lost too.

(I just cried again writing that line).

Because it’s true.

Sometimes us dads are lost too.

Sometimes we’re busy…

Busy with work,

Busy with some other project.

Stressed out by our relationship with our spouse.

Stressed out over being able to cover financial costs.

Lost as to how to solve so many of the family’s problems.

And sometimes we just can’t deal with all the emotion(s).

We haven’t learned how.

My Experience

Now, honestly, my dad never really said this to me (or at least I didn’t feel it communicated to me directly in this way).

I was scared of him.

I didn’t feel like I could be sad to him.

Or angry.

He didn’t know how to handle those emotions.

Neither did I.

Likely his dad wasn’t there for him in that way.

Nor his father before him.

In large families, often there is less attention available, especially without additional help from others.

Sometimes all the emotional burden left to the mother as the father takes charge of the financial one.

Tough for one to provide for so many financially and the other emotionally.

The pattern repeats itself.

Men not being there (emotionally) when needed.

Because they didn’t know how.

And each one of us,

Just needs to hear the same simple message from our fathers (or father figures).

And deep down,

Even when they didn’t know how to communicate it,

The message they always wanted to give us is the exact message the father shared in this song:

Don’t worry son.

I know it hurts now.

But It’s okay.

Sometimes things are going to hurt.

But don’t you worry son.

Heaven, God, the universe.

He’s got a plan for you.

No fear,

Just faith.

In the divine.

In divine love.

And guidance.

It’s not a complicated or a sophisticated message.

Not even a provable one (that Heaven has a plan for you).

So where’s the power?

What’s the peace from the song & its message?

It’s in Dad (or someone) being there for you.

And telling you,

Consoling you,

Comforting you

In the muck,

In the emotional pain,

Feeling it with you,

And guiding you toward the light.

Toward hope, and

Toward peace & joy.

And that comfort, that confidence, that overcoming of fear,

Heals much of the anxiety we experience

Because we ARE worrying too much about the outcome & trying to control it.

And if our Soul knows that, it doesn’t need to worry,

Because everything will be okay.

Celebration

The music after the chorus is basically a celebration.

Because there is joy!

There’s pain.

There absolutely is pain.

But there’s also joy.

And the father in the story has the beautiful message of

Things will work out.

If you have faith.

So celebrate!

I mean it.

CELEBRATE!

Because life’s both good and hard.

Painful and joyful.

So celebrate the good

Or the suffering through the bad will feel like hell.

Be joyful.

Allow it to exist.

Don’t let the worry hold you back.

Because most of the suffering comes from the worrying and our thoughts about it, and not the thing itself.

Final Thoughts

I had no idea writing about this song was going to be so therapeutic for me, even though the point of writing this was to share songs that HAVE helped me feel and process my emotions—to share music that has greatly helped me.

So, to my surprise, I got to cry out some hurt and feel better about the past, the present and even the future.

Why?

Because I know that I don’t need to worry.

“Because heaven’s got a plan for (me).”

And I also know that that is the message my father wants me to receive.

Covers

Some softer but powerful covers of the song.

I loved this one:

Another version I’ve listened for over a decade by the Piano Guys with a Hindi translation since they paired up with Indian artist Shweta Subram.

It’s a unique cover.

Bit of a different emotional take, much more focus on the celebration part I’d say and none of the original lyrics in English nor in the same sections.

Full Lyrics

There was a time
I used to look into my father's eyes
In a happy home
I was a king, I had a golden throne
Those days are gone
Now the memory's on the wall
I hear the songs
From the places where I was born

Up on a hill across the blue lake
That's where I had my first heartbreak
I still remember how it all changed
My father said

Don't you worry, don't you worry child
See Heaven's got a plan for you
Don't you worry, don't you worry now
Yeah

Don't you worry, don't you worry now
Yeah

There was a time
I met a girl of a different kind
We ruled the world
I thought I'd never lose her out of sight
We were so young
I think of her now and then
I still here the songs
Reminding me of a friend

Up on a hill across the blue lake
That's where I had my first heartbreak
I still remember how it all changed
My father said

Don't you worry, don't you worry child
See Heaven's got a plan for you
Don't you worry, don't you worry now
Yeah

“I feel like giving up.

Almost every day, in fact. Not all day, of course, but there are moments.

My bet is that you have those moments, too…

Most of the time, we deal with the obstacles by persevering. Sometimes we get discouraged and turn to inspirational writing, like stuff from Vince Lombardi: ‘Quitters never win and winners never quit.’ Bad advice. Winners quit all the time. THEY JUST QUIT THE RIGHT STUFF AT THE RIGHT TIME.” (bold emphasis added)

Intro

The dip is a very short book (I read it in about 90 minutes).

Seth Godin wrote it to help people recognize:

• When it’s time to quit something.

• When it’s time to persevere.

Which can definitely be a hard thing to figure out sometimes.

I know I often don’t know when I should be strong and keep going, or when I should cut my losses or stop and move on.

According to Godin, one of the main reasons for quitting is when you can’t be one of the best. In other cases, sticking with it is exactly what will make you one of the best. The key is recognizing what kind of situation you are in.

We need to learn to discern when to continue something and show grit and when something is not a wise use of our time to continue pursuing.

“People don’t have a lot of time and don’t want to take a lot of risks. If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer of the navel, you’re not going to mess around by going to a lot of doctors. You’re going to head straight for the “top guy”…(w)hy screw around if you only get one chance?

…With limited time or opportunity to experiment we intentionally narrow our choices to those at the top.

You’re not the only person who looks for the best choice. Everyone does. As a result, the rewards or being first are enormous. It’s not a linear scale. It’s not a matter of getting a little more after giving a little more. It’s a curve, and a steep one.” (bold is my emphasis added)

That’s quite the quote.

But it also makes sense.

None of us like to spend our hard-earned money (or time) on bad quality.

We generally look to get the best value for our money (as well as our time and attention), which is why it’s important to be as good as you can at what you choose to do.

If you work or sell in a market with shortages in what you provide, you can get away making money selling low quality for a while, but eventually the market levels out and you either need to be good at what you do or move on to something else.

Another reason to figure out what you really want to do and get good at and focus on working on that and getting through that dip versus sticking it out on something you aren’t that good at and don’t particularly enjoy either.

Two or Three Favorite Things

Quitting is Expected

Most people quit. They just don’t quit successfully. In fact, many professions and many marketplaces profit from quitters — society assumes you’re going to quit. In fact, businesses and organizations count on it.

One of my favorite things is one of the main threads of the book — that many businesses today expect you to quit and take advantage of it. They provide certain services expecting many people to pay but not use the service (like gym memberships or online subscription services).

The principle also applies to achieving goals. There are lots of doors, classes, certifications and tests that are put in the way of access to certain jobs. One reason is to make it harder to break into the field (so wages stay high for those in it, and often to potentially maintain a level of quality as well.

If we want to break through, we have to push through the Dip to get there.

Importance of Being the Best

Godin says:

If you learn about the systems that have been put in place that encourage quitting, you’ll be more likely to beat them. And once you understand the common sinkhole that trips up so many people (I call it the Dip), you’ll be one step closer to getting through it.

Extraordinary benefits accrue to the tiny minority of people who are able to push just a tiny bit longer than most.

Extraordinary benefits also accrue to the tiny majority with the guts to quit early and refocus their efforts on something new.

In both cases, it’s about being the best in the world. About getting through the hard stuff and coming out on the other side.

Quit the wrong stuff.
Stick with the right stuff.
Have the guts to do one or the other.

It really is a big deal to stick with something that will allow us to make a difference in the lives of others.

It’s more easily done by being one of the best.

The Dip is The Place Most People Quit

The biggest thing to remember is there a long period of growth that Godin calls the Dip but others call the Plateau.

It can be long and arduous.

It requires grit.

That’s why Godin’s focus is on making sure that we know what we want and if it’s worth it.

There is a price to pay.

If we’ve made sure the effort is worth it then it very often will be.

The Decision to Quit Something or Not Should Be Made On Predetermined Factors

Another thing I liked from the book was about deciding beforehand when to quit.

We have to think ahead and decide what needs to happen for us to give up.

If we don’t think about the difficulties and pains ahead of time, the Dip may likely cause us to give up at the wrong time.

Godin quoted an ultramarathoner Dick Collins as saying:

Decide before the race the conditions that will cause you to stop and drop out. You don’t want to be out there saying, ‘Well, gee, my leg hurts, I’m a little dehydrated, I’m sleepy, I’m tired, and it’s cold and windy.’ And talk yourself into quitting. If you are making a decision based on how you feel at that moment, you will probably make the wrong decision.

This rule applies to learning a language, taking a class, obtaining a degree, starting a job, or pretty much any endeavor we take on.

I think it’s because of this tendency to not plan ahead that we get the maxims about never quitting.

If we always quit when things get hard we never achieve anything.

But we should also make sure that we are exerting ourselves towards our actual goals and achievements and not some unaligned objective.

“Coping is what people do when they try to muddle through. They cope with a bad job or a difficult task. The problem with coping is that it never leads to exceptional performance. Mediocre work is rarely because of a lack of talent and often because of the Cul-de-Sac. All coping does is waste your time and misdirect your energy. If the best you can do is cope, you’re better off quitting.

Quitting is better than coping because quitting frees you up to excel at something else.” (emphasis added)

Personal Impact

Personally, I agree with the message of the book.

I think Godin’s definition of the Dip is perhaps a little too simple and I would have liked him to delve into The Dip itself a little bit more since it was the title of his book, but I think it’s important that we recognize that it’s good to quit sometimes.

I am a person that can often say “yes” to everyone and everything and spread myself too thin. I want to learn everything. And I can’t. I will never be great if I try and do everything. But I should pick things that are important to me and work through the Dip on those things so I can be truly great at them.

The idea is to not cope with things that are not the best options for us.

I also liked how Godin pointed out that there is a good time to quit and a bad time to quit.

The good time is before the Dip when you analyze the costs and benefits and decide if the costs are worth it to you.

The bad time is when you are getting close to realizing the benefits after spending a lot of time, effort and possibly money trying to reach a goal.

My slight disagreement with Godin is that I think that sometimes even quitting close to realizing the benefit is the right decision if the cost of continuing is too high. Think of a hike where you just broke your leg. Continuing on a bit more might do more damage or put your life at risk. That’s a moment it could be worth quitting (for the time being). Or, you spent 5-10 years becoming a lawyer or doctor and realize you don’t enjoy it. Sure, you made a mistake and spent years investing in that mistake, but that doesn’t mean you should continue to punish yourself with unhappiness or lack of fulfillment because of the investment you made.

Sometimes it’s okay to right off a bad investment and move on with a clean slate and the lessons learned.

Because we all make mistakes. Even big ones. Sometimes ones we’ve spent decades making. And once we realize it’s wrong, there’s nothing wrong with quitting and working on what you want or who you truly want to be.

It happens, but the costs of our mistakes are sunk (using an economic term). If we suddenly get new information and reazlie there are benefits to quitting or additional costs to continuing, it’s okay to abandon the plan for another one.

“Never quit.

What a spectacularly bad piece of advice…Never quit wetting your bed? Or that job you had at Burger King in high school? Never quit selling a product that is obsolete?

Actually, quitting as a short-term strategy is a bad idea. Quitting for the long term is an excellent idea.

I think the advice-giver meant to say, ‘Never quit something with great long-term potential just because you can’t deal with the stress of the moment.’ Now THAT’S good advice.”

Final Thoughts

I thought the book had a great message and got some points across.

I feel like he could have analyzed, evaluated or explained more deeply his view on when it’s time to quit versus when you should not quit (since that was the main theme), but overall, his main message is clear and correct.

I definitely think it’s a beneficial message for most of us so that we all spend less time and money on the wrong things and more time and money on the right things (whatever those are to us).

The book is very short and easy to read; I’d recommend checking it out from the library or borrowing from a friend unless you find it for cheap. But there is value in the message so whatever works for you.

One last quote from the book for you:

“Quitting is not the same as failing.

Strategic quitting is a conscious decision you make based on the choices that are available to you. If you realize you’re at a dead end compared with what you could be investing in, quitting is not only a reasonable choice, it’s a smart one.

Failing, on the other hand, means that your dream is over. Failing happens when you give up, when there are no other options, or when you quit so often that you’ve used up all your time and resources.

It’s easy to wring your hands about becoming a failure. Quitting smart, though, is a great way to avoiding failing.” (emphasis added)

Thank you so much for being a subscriber to Living à la Flânerie!

I’m grateful you’re hear and I hope you get value from my email newsletter.

I just wanted to give you all an update as to what to expect for the near future.

Each week I plan to send 3 regular emails on specific days.

Mondays will be a book review or great insights I’ve gained from a specific book, usually non-fiction.

If you want to know what books I recommend or what great things I’ve learned than you’ll enjoy those posts.

Wednesdays will be a shorter but more musical post.

I will post about music that’s moved me in some way. Music that I liked or that’s helped me connect with an emotion or learn something about me or the world.

I love music and it’s a powerful connector to our emotions. So I want to share regularly music that has helped and made a difference for me as a man.

I hope I can get a great song or two added to your regular playlist.

Fridays will be the most unique day.

That’s the day I’ll be posting my musings or observations as a family-focused flâneur.

Flâneurs are people who observe, are present, enjoy the moment and take in their surroundings.

They are curious and I invite you to be curious and observant to learn and enjoy with me.

Every now and then, I’ll send a monthly or fortnightly email with updates or invites, questions or offers. So you can expect to hear from me a bit more than thrice weekly. But that will be the regular cadence.

Once again, I’m thrilled you are here on the stroll with me as we observe life alone together!

What makes Avicii’s Hey Brother special? What’s so powerful about it?

There’s something moving there.

The rhythm pushing forward.

Working, fighting, struggling.

For a brother or a sister.

The desire & love of being there for another.

No matter what.

Subscribe now

We all feel that for someone.

Whether a sibling, a child, a parent, a friend.

There’s someone we feel we’ll be there for no matter what.

And it’s kind of a celebration!

It’s moving and powerful to feel that you’ll be there with them in their struggles.

In their down times.

When they’re fraught with doubt and discouragement.

We all want to give.

We all want to contribute.

Contribution might be the most fulfilling thing of all.

We also know that we want someone there for us in our downtimes.

So, maybe the song is moving for you because YOU need to know that there’s someone who’s there for you when the sky is falling down.

We’ve all had moments we felt the sky was falling down.

And no one was there.

And it didn’t feel good.

It felt horrible.

Especially if we thought it meant something about us.

About being unlovable

Or unwanted.

And because we dislike that feeling,

We want to be there for others.

That’s love.

Wanting the best for someone else.

Being willing to give a bit of oneself for someone else.

Before leaving, please take a listen to this version of the song performed by the original artist who sang the song Dan Tyminski. He’s a bluegrass singer who Avicii paid to sing the song on his original track (Story here).

It’s a fantastic bluegrass version of the song. I’m not sure which version I like more (Dan’s or Avicii’s).

Enjoy!

And be there for your brother (or sister)!

Lyrics

Hey brother
There's an endless road to rediscover
Hey sister
Know that water's sweet, but blood is thicker
Oh, if the sky comes falling down
For you
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do

Hey brother
Do you still believe in one another?
Hey sister
Do you still believe in love? I wonder
Oh, if the sky comes falling down
For you
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do

What if I'm far from home?
Oh brother, I will hear you call
What if I lose it all?
Oh sister, I will help you out
Oh, if the sky comes falling down
For you
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do

Hey brother
There's an endless road to rediscover
Hey sister
Do you still believe in love? I wonder
Oh, if the sky comes falling down
For you
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do

What if I'm far from home?
Oh brother, I will hear you call
What if I lose it all?
Oh sister, I will help you out
Oh, if the sky comes falling down
For you
There's nothing in this world I wouldn't do

Below is Avicii’s music video of the song where the brother becomes a soldier and gives his life for his brother (and his countrymen). Obviously, that is part of the message Avicii was trying to share with his music.

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Have you ever felt like you were too much?

Your emotions?

Your personality?

You?

As a person?

Have you felt you are just too much to handle?

Maybe you are…

NOT!!!

Why do we feel like a burden?

The burden guilt is a common one.

Perhaps life growing up was hard.

Maybe our caregivers were stressed about their jobs…

…or money…

…or their own flaws & fears…

…or simply the accumulation of all of life’s demands.

Hell, we ALL have them!

But, for whichever reason, when we were young, we interpreted our needs as too much for our caregivers.

They didn’t seem to be able to handle our emotions.

Getting angry brought out reprimands and rejection.

Crying brought us little comfort or attention.

Sharing our fears or doubts or discomfort brought no connection.

So we had to hold back our feelings.

We had to pay attention to the burden we added to our caregivers’ load.

And now,

We think too much about how we burden others and rarely ask for anything.

We never ask!

The strange truth….

Is that we’re making it true!

Trying to NOT be a burden for most people, causes us to be an extremely heavy burden for the 1 or 2 people in our lives who are trying to help us.

We burden them with EVERYTHING.

And it’s overwhelming.

And them expressing their inability to cope with all of our stuff, makes us feel like more of a burden again.

It can be quite maddening to feel that we ARE a burden,

When it’s actually false.

We are not a burden.

You Were Not a Burden

As children, we learned the wrong thing.

We learned that our needs were too much and that we needed to hold back on expressing our emotions or asking for help or attention.

We came to believe that we were “too much”.

We thought we had to just figure things out by ourselves.

And now, as adults, in new & challenging situations, it’s tough.

It’s tough because we don’t ask for help, yet we feel like the load is too heavy.

It’s tough because we don’t think we’re worthy of taking up space, or taking up others’ time or attention.

It’s tough because we feel so alone and so unworthy and yet we long for attention and love and connection.

We have to relearn the message that we are not a burden.

We never were.

We just didn’t get the attention that we needed.

It wasn’t our fault, it just happened.

We are good enough now to take up space, to ask for help, to get attention.

And if no one can give it to us, we are good enough to give it to ourselves.

That’s the lesson that has to be learned.

If we need attention, ask for it.

If we need love, seek it out healthily, especially from ourselves.

If we need something, we are mature enough, and love ourselves enough, and are capable enough to make sure we get it.

We can do it!

YOU can do it.

I love you.

But more importantly,

YOU love you, and CAN love you enough

So that you come to know and feel

THAT YOU ARE NO LONGER A BURDEN.

You’re just you.

Good, normal, human being with normal human needs.

You.

Crap!

What if I just write garbage?

Garbage horrible takes, fake takes, lies, deception.

I mean the whole dump.

Isn’t all that crap?

Do people like reading trash?

Do we just read what we want to hear?

What if everything I write is wrong?

Garbage, Garbage, Garbage

Often we think that content which we’ve put real effort into is trash…

Why?

…because of self-judgement.

We think we’re bad,

That we’re trash,

Thus, all of our content is trash as well.

It’s quite the common judgement.

The real trash…

…is the stuff written…

…to lie…

…to deceive…

…to hurt…

…to damage…

…to intentionally make worse.

It’s not all bad

Sincere content.

Thoughtful content.

Even if written poorly,

Repetitively,

Written repetitively,

Confusingly,

Blocked in weird groups.

Will still have its flakes of gold hidden in the mess.

The cleanliness,

The orderliness,

Helps others to see the value,

But it in no way diminishes or removes

The value that’s already there.

In you.

In your content.

In your life.

Maybe you just need to see it.

Or remember it.

And clean it up just a little bit if it helps you to see it yourself.

My last name is Flanary (originally spelled Flannery) so I do have an ancestral connection, albeit many, many generations removed.

I’ve found a lot of the Irish music to be quite emotional.

Not just emotional, but surprising in how WELL they connect with my emotions!

Extremely powerful & resonating songs.

Siúil a Rún, in particular, is sad.

It’s melancholy.

It’s not a joyous song.

And yet…

My top two version of this song are:

This one by Ella Roberts. It’s my favorite of the traditional versions—

It transmits well the meaning and longing of the song.

My other favorite is this one by Seo Linn.

Very good.

It’s heavier and has more of a folk rock feel—very different from most versions of the song.

It gets intense toward the middle/end of the song—

Please listen to these songs before reading more. The music matters more than the rest of the post.

Lyric meaning

If you check out the lyrics, it’s a song sung by a woman about her sadness of her husband being off at war and the likelihood of losing him—and all the things she’s willing to do to increase the chances of his return.

Lyrics:

I wish I was on yonder hill
'Tis there I'd sit and cry my fill
Until every tear would turn a mill
Is go dté tú, mo mhuirnín, slán

Chorus:
Siúil, siúil, siúil a rúin
Siúil go socair agus siúil go ciúin
Siúil go doras agus éalaigh liom
Is go dté tú, mo mhuirnín, slán

I'll sell my rock, I'll sell my reel
I'll sell my only spinning wheel
To buy my love a sword of steel
Is go dté tú, mo mhuirnín, slán

Chorus

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
I wish I had my heart again
And vainly think I'd not complain
Is go dté tú, mo mhuirnín, slán

Chorus

I’ll dye my petticoats, I’ll dye them red
And round the World I’ll beg for bread
Until my parents would wish me dead.
Is go dté tú, mo mhuirnín slán

Chorus

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain,
I wish I had my heart again,
And vainly think I’d not complain,
Is go dté tú, mo mhuirnín slán

But now my love had gone to France,
to try his fortune there to advance.
If he e’er come back, ’tis but a chance.
Is go dté tú, mo mhuirnín slán

Irish Chorus Translation:

Come, come, come, O love
Quickly come to me, softly move
Come to the door, and away we’ll flee
And safe for aye may my darling be!

It’s a sad song!

But it’s powerful, especially when well performed.

Let me know what you think!

Below I’ve linked a number of other versions I listen to.

Celtic Woman with their take—

A very recent take by The Hound + The Fox with guest artists!—

A classic from the 70s by Clannad—

Another solid rock version—

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Lindsey Stirling is an artist I’ve followed and listened to for a long time.

I did not see her on America’s Got Talent but soon afterwards when she performed at halftime of a Utah Jazz game I attended in Salt Lake City.

Around that time she started posting on YouTube in collaboration with Devin Graham whom one of my friends knew and posted his content constantly.

Anyway, I’ve been a follower/fan for a bit, albeit not diehard and I actually don’t listen too much to her music anymore.

BUT…

I’m hooked on First Light right now.

Fair warning. I think I have ADHD or something and when I hear a song that resonates I tend to repeat and re-listen over and over for a days or weeks.

It’s a newer thing but i really try and dig into the emotions that the song is resonating with with me.

Now, First Light is a song with no lyrics.

It’s simply violin, and a handful of other electrical instruments (I’m no expert on instruments), but

Something HITS with this song.

The movement.

The hope.

The courage in taking action,

On finding that first beam of light. When it’s dark.

The echo-y sound, almost haunting melody at the start.

The powerful, faster main theme.

The need to move to the music.

I just felt I needed to write about.

And share it.

I like to share.

(I have 9 younger siblings, I didn’t have a choice but to learn to like it) 😉

Have a listen:

Let me know your thoughts!

One of the types of posts I’m going to make is about resonating music.

Why?

Because I want to.

I want to share music that’s been powerful enough emotionally to communicate something to my soul.

Something that helped me to connect with a part of me.

Sometimes that was pain.

Sometimes it was hope.

Sometimes it’s joy.

Sometimes it’s just relaxing and taking things easy.

We ALL have our favorite music that’s touched us.

May have been for different reasons at different times.

Doesn’t matter.

What matters is that it’s resonated with us.

And we care about it.

Or it’s helped us through a hard time.

It’s gotten us out of a funk.

It provided an answer to a long-sought question or concern.

It’s pushed us forward.

Whatever the reason, music matters. Especially to us human souls. It seems to enter deep and bypass the mind to the heart.

And that’s why we LOVE music.

And it’s also why I’m going to post about it.

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Let’s get down to business.

Substack is new. I’ve done some writing on Medium before but now I’m giving this Substack thing a try.

What’s the point of it?

Well…I want to write and I want to make writing and video content to share with others and to grow as a person and even make some extra money along the way.

How do I plan to do that?

Being Myself.

My plan is just to write about what I care about.

I believe if I write about the things I’m learning and the things I’m passionate about, that passion will come out in my writing and make it both more interesting and more relatable.

I used to hate writing.

In school, I would often freeze and write nothing on paper for fear of making a mistake or writing something dumb.

I judged myself into doing nothing or doing too little.

I self-censored.

I cut off my own voice.

I still do.

It’s been a rough road for me to open and to be myself.

I’ll definitely write a lot about the topic.

It’s been a hinderance to my growth and success.

But it’s also been a blessing.

You can’t grow without opposition.

Wait? Does that even make any sense?

Is opposition required for growth?

In the religion I grew up in we have a scripture verse that says

Also another one in the same chapter,

You can’t have choice without choices.

And you can’t have choices if there aren’t differences and different consequences for those choices.

And apparently, things don’t grow until broken down and nourished.

Muscles need use and calories.

Plants need water and carbon dioxide.

Many Animals need food/water and oxygen.

It’s the pushing through, the overcoming that brings about the changes needed to thrive.

As I wrote this post I start to judge myself. I told myself:

I need to stop self-censoring! And just write! Edit later!

JUST GO WITH IT!

And it works! I get something on paper, I move forward, and I grow.

(And I came back and edited later because what I wrote needed some work)

New Stuff

So, where were we?

Oh yes. This Substack.

As you see, I may ramble,

I may go off topic.

I may not use perfect academic grammar as taught in school.

But the beauty and joy of writing…!

Is you get to write whatever the heck you want!

In any way you want!

However you want!

And that’s what I’m going to do here.

There’ll be some sappy stuff.

There will be cool travel blogs.

There were be some political analysis, some religious, spiritual stuff.

It’s all a part of the human experience and part of this world that I love so much.

I’ve always loved this globe, this planet, humankind, the Earth.

I’m not sure why. The ugly stuff is there. It’s painful. It’s horrible sometimes.

But the goodness is there too. It always has been. As well as the painful, un-fun stuff.

Maybe that’s the meaning behind the opposition in all things scripture.

You can’t have one without the other.

Good isn’t good if there were no bad.

Beauty isn’t beautiful if there weren’t ugly things as well.

And we wouldn’t have any of the joy, any of the love, if there weren’t also sadness and pain, hate, malice and indifference.

Wrap-up

Anyway, to round it all out.

This substack publication is all about me sharing with you.

Sharing the things I think about.

Sharing the things I’ve learned.

Sharing the things that’ve been hard for me.

Sharing mistakes.

Sharing growth.

Sharing a bit of everything, especially my messiness.

Because that messiness is a part of me.

Life is messy.

We humans sometimes clean it up and bring order.

Sometimes we make it messier.

But things as they are, they are beautiful.

And I have a lot to share.

Welcome to the journey a la flânerie (post on that topic soon).

Please subscribe to get updates on new posts! I’d love to have you along on the stroll.

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