LJ Idol: Three Strikes, Week 2: "What Really Matters"
Focus
How do you choose?
Every day feels like a new verse of "We Didn't Start the Fire"--so many quarrels, dangers, and injustices to care about, keep track of, and fight against.
Oh, these times are so uncertain
there's a yearning undefined
and people filled with rage
Social media only amplifies these issues, each with some people screaming "this is the thing we need to focus on!"--but how do we focus on two hundred battles at once?
What are these voices outside love's open door
Make us throw off our contentment and beg for something more
Disinformation campaigns don't help, as all they serve to do is confound us into wild-goose chases, actually distracting us from the things that actually matter. Whatever those are.
The more I know, the less I understand
All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning again
I know my answer, and the Beatles did too. All you need is love.
Focus on loving those around you--including yourself--and you'll find your compass.
We all need a little tenderness
how can love survive
in such a graceless age?
Think less about how to win, and more about how not to lose anyone. Less energy spent debunking lies, more spent preaching the truth.
All the trust and self-assurance that lead to happiness
are the very things we've killed, I guess
Our pride and competition cannot fill these empty arms
and the walls they've built between us
they won't keep us warm
And above all, recognize that nobody's perfect. We're all gonna screw this up, because we're all screwed up. Just keep swimming, and keep others swimming alongside you. That's gotta be good enough.
I've been trying to get down to the heart of the matter
because the flesh will get weak
and the ashes will scatter
but I think it's about forgiveness, forgiveness...
*****
Lyrical inspiration: Don Henley, "Heart of the Matter"