It has been an interesting, confusing and unsettling kind of week — not just for me I’m certain, but for many if not most of us, given the current state of the world.
The year so far has been riddled with natural disasters, heartbreaking tragedies and the viral spread of not only physical disease, but mental, emotional and spiritual affliction.
Our livelihoods are at stake for sure, but not merely for the reasons presented so hysterically by news and social media.
The greatest risk we are facing, as I have become enlightened to these last few days, is that we become a people enslaved to fear.
A fear that causes irrational thinking and decision-making, a fear that breeds suspicion and greed, a fear that isolates and distresses us — to a point where life just seems too difficult to bear.
And I’ve come to recognise that one of my fears is fear itself, that fear has the potential to overwhelm me and stop me from living the life I desire.
But I simply cannot allow this to happen. No one of us should.
So how do we go about living beyond such fear?
I’ve heard many times that the opposite of fear is love, and I never quite understood what this meant until I tried to better understand what love actually is.
Upon reflection, I’ve discovered that love is an all-encompassing virtue.
Love is having courage, learning to trust, being grateful, sharing kindness, giving joy, having self-awareness and acceptance, showing compassion and empathy, fighting for justice and leaning into creativity.
If love is expressed and put into action in all of these ways, well then, perhaps we must do more of these if we are to rise above fear.
As I often do, when certain worries overcome, I took to my notebook the other night, sat at my piano and wrote a song.
Writing poetry, music and lyrics has been my therapy for many years — I always learn something about myself in the process and it is always a healing activity for my soul.
I’ve found songwriting a powerful way to confront my fears, work through my anxieties and ultimately, transform them into something better — something more hopeful.
I’ve realised that writing songs helps me to manifest the feeling of strength I long for in times of great weakness.
The other night was no different to others, only that I’m ready to share it now, for the first time. I haven’t yet recorded the music, but I hope that the lyrics below as they are right now, offer you a little comfort, reprieve and a sense of hope amidst the chaos of our world.
Some Kind Of Light
Dark of night as I close my eyes
We have all lost sight in the dark of night
I want to find, another guide
Some kind of light
Taken hold of our minds, our souls
We’re afraid to know of a world so cold
I want to feel, I want to sow
Some kind of hope
So in a bed of sadness, will your smile awake?
Will you choose to give more than you choose to take?
In this kind of madness, lives are on the line
And what I want to do with mine
Is live some kind of light
Fires they burn, we cry out and yearn
To be healed from hurt in a troubled world
I want to love, I want to serve
Upon this earth
All this pain to mend, so much to defend
Thinking of the end, holding out for strength
I want to be, not just pretend
And breathe again
So in a bed of sadness, will your smile awake?
Will you choose to give more than you choose to take?
In this kind of madness, lives are on the line
And what I want to do with mine
Is live some kind of light
© 2020 Eira Joy Aringay