Last month I shared how I made the uncharacteristic and unprecedented decision to shake things up and go to Tanzania with my daughter.
This month I’m eager to share a song by Jason Browne with you (don’t worry – I won’t be singing it!) These lyrics have been an anthem to me over the years. They remind me to play big, to make room for all of myself – not just the “acceptable” parts – and to gently embrace the daily buffet of worldly sorrows and celebrations.
Read below or listen here.
Alive in the World
Jackson Browne
I want to live in the world, not inside my head
I want to live in the world, I want to stand and be counted
With the hopeful and the willing
With the open and the strong
With the voices in the darkness
Fashioning daylight out of song
And the millions of lovers
Alive in the world
I want to live in the world, not behind some wall
I want to live in the world, where I will hear if another voice should call
To the prisoner inside me
To the captive of my doubt
Who among his fantasies harbors the dream of breaking out
And taking his chances
Alive in the world
To open my eyes and wake up alive in the world
To open my eyes and fully arrive in the world
With it’s beauty and it’s cruelty
With it’s heartbreak and it’s joy
With it constantly giving birth to life and to forces that destroy
And the infinite power of change
Alive in the world
To open my eyes and wake up alive in the world
To open my eyes and fully arrive in the world
To open my eyes and wake up alive in the world
To open my eyes and fully arrive in the world
(c) 1996, Swallow Turn Music, ASCAP
And so dear reader – tell me – what comes up for you when you read or listen to these lyrics and what song serves as an anthem for you?
