Trying to drown out the sound of my coworker snapping her gum, I picked up my headphones and switched on Arcade Fire's Kettles.
Kettles was one of the songs on the Funeral album that never resonated much with me. The lyrics didn't penetrate through the whistle of tea kettle permeating every note in the song. I guess I could forgive that. After all, there are so many strong tracks on the Funeral album that one or two are bound to skip my notice.
I first listened to the Funeral album many years after it came out. I had never even heard of Arcade Fire until that year because someone in some forum was arguing the superiority of Arcade Fire to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes in 2010. I figured it was smart to think for myself and listen to their album. I loved it so much that I went on a crusade that summer to win some tickets to their Merriweather Show. Successful, I became a fan ... and then subsequently forgot about them as the new latest thing caught my attention.
Listening to Kettles two years later, I not only love the song, but the song has helped me identify the solution to a problem concerning my career goals.
Kettles was one of the songs on the Funeral album that never resonated much with me. The lyrics didn't penetrate through the whistle of tea kettle permeating every note in the song. I guess I could forgive that. After all, there are so many strong tracks on the Funeral album that one or two are bound to skip my notice.
I first listened to the Funeral album many years after it came out. I had never even heard of Arcade Fire until that year because someone in some forum was arguing the superiority of Arcade Fire to Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes in 2010. I figured it was smart to think for myself and listen to their album. I loved it so much that I went on a crusade that summer to win some tickets to their Merriweather Show. Successful, I became a fan ... and then subsequently forgot about them as the new latest thing caught my attention.
Listening to Kettles two years later, I not only love the song, but the song has helped me identify the solution to a problem concerning my career goals.
I can now identify my problem. I have been uncertain about the career I chose for myself. Social work seemed like the perfect field for me, but after a while I've learned it is a little bit depressing and overwhelming.
The key question was this: Did I really want to immerse myself in human suffering when I'm finally starting to get on my feet? Couldn't I close my eyes and just be grateful that I was able to change some things in my own life? I can't live everyone's lives for them. Others need to make changes to make themselves happy.
Then these lyrics penetrated me today:
All the neighbors starting up a fire burning all the old folks, the witches, and the lies. My eyes are covered by the hands of my unborn kids. But my heart keeps watching through the skin of my eyelids. They say a watched pot won't ever boil. Well I closed my eyes and nothing changed. Just some water getting hotter in the flames.
I was beginning to think that I could close my eyes to human suffering, but I can't. I won't. Maybe if I work toward a happier world I'll fail and feel frustrated. But what if I succeed?
All the neighbors starting up a fire burning all the old folks, the witches, and the lies. My eyes are covered by the hands of my unborn kids. But my heart keeps watching through the skin of my eyelids. They say a watched pot won't ever boil. Well I closed my eyes and nothing changed. Just some water getting hotter in the flames.
I was beginning to think that I could close my eyes to human suffering, but I can't. I won't. Maybe if I work toward a happier world I'll fail and feel frustrated. But what if I succeed?
I know for sure that if I don't try at all, if I close my eyes to the world around me and continue to live in denial, the world's problems will without a doubt continue to heat up and boil.
It is going to be hard work. Just to get my degree I have to somehow find a job that pays enough to get me through as well as lets me go to my internship for the next couple of years. Plus, I am probably not going to make a lot of money.
Once I do work in the field, there might be problems I cannot solve.
I have to at least try, even if I am afraid.
I have to at least try, even if I am afraid.
Eyes wide open,
No comments:
Post a Comment