True Sadness

Alrighty, moving on to song numero dos: True Sadness, by the Avett Brothers. Again, an upbeat track with super depressing lyrics. My mom and I often debate about this song. Essentially, the point of the song is that, when you really get to know people, you find a core of true sadness. I think this is true, and I think Kairos is kind of about this. I think the point is kind of to get acquainted with the varieties of sadness that exist in this realm so that we become more aware of our actions and their consequences. It is just about getting to know a wide range of people. It is like reading fifty books at a time and reading all of these different plots and differing points of views and therefore all of the different sadnesses that make people tick.

So today at Starbucks, my aunt and my mom were talking about psychoanalyses. We were discussing what makes people who they are. I argued that how many siblings you have, which then decides how your parents treat you and changes the entire home dynamic, determines pretty much everything. They obviously disagreed, saying that that is important, but not the most important. They did not say what they think is the most important, though. Kairos goes beyond the amount of siblings you have and where you are in the order of siblings, but that is essentially the point of it; to figure out the different things that can happen in someone's life, the different circumstances, experiences, and chemical makeups that make them into the snowflake people we see before us now. We must understand the cloud to know the snowflake. You must know someones past to understand their present, but you can never predict where the future will take them or what it will hold, because free will does still exist.

I do not really remember where I was going with that. I recently was talking about how I should do podcasts instead of blogs because my fingers typing do not keep up with the pace of my brain, but I can speak really fast. I always lose my train of thought when I write because I get so caught up in a sentence that I forget what I wanted my next sentence to be.

Anyway. I think sadness is the center of humans. Meaning, I think the accumulation of sadness and troubled times you have experienced will dictate how you act in the present. I think you are scarred and created by these moments and they scare you away from doing certain things and make you eager to do something else instead. My mother, however, believes that happiness is the core of humans. She believes that all of the happy times you have had in your life determines how you will act. So she does not really like the song, because she thinks it is a super pessimistic take on human life. Now, let me be clear. I think that sad events decide how you will act. However, I do believe that, at the core of every human, you would find true happiness. Because, despite all of these sad times and things that happen to humans, I do believe that we are still little happy animals, like dogs or something, deep down. We have bad days, not bad lives. We are blessed to be alive, blessed to be around other humans, and we have an amazing life here on earth. I think, deep down, you will find universal happiness within humans. However, you will also find universal sadness, and it is this sadness, or fear of it, that decides our actions. Just my take. Okay so let us read the lyrics, now:

You were a friend to me when my wheels were off the track, And though you say there is no need I intend to pay you back. When my mind was turning loose and all my thoughts were turning black, You shined a light on me and I intend to pay you back. But I still wake up shaken by dreams, And I hate to say it but the way it seems, Is that no one is fine. Take the time to peel a few layers, And you will find, True sadness.When I was a child I depended on a bottle, Full grown I've been known to lean on a bottle. But you're the real deal in a world of imposters, And I've seen the program make men out of monsters.'Cause I still wake up shaken by dreams, And I hate to say it but the way it seems, Is that no one is fine. Take the time to peel a few layers, And you will find, True sadness.Angela became a target, As soon as her beauty was seen By young men who try to reduce her down To a scene on an x-rated screen. Is she not more than the curve of her hips? Is she not more than the shine on her lips? Does she not dream to sing and to live and to dance down her own path? Without being torn apart. Does she not have a heart? I cannot go on with this evil inside me, I step out my front door and I feel it surround me. Just know the kingdom of God is within you, Even though the battle is bound to continue. 'Cause I still wake up shaken by dreams, And I hate to say it but the way it seems, Is that no one is fine. Take the time to peel a few layers, And you will find, True sadness. True sadness. True, true sadness.

I do not feel the need to break this one up line by line. It is a very direct song. It does not have metaphors or secret meaning, it is really right in your face and blatantly raw. There is one line I would like to point out, though: "You're the real deal in a world of imposters." This line, along with Jason Mraz's, "You're an island of reality in an ocean of diarrhea," are, to me, the two best compliments you can ever receive in life. If I ever quote these to you, know that you mean a lot to me. They just really speak to me. It is such an unusual yet amazing way to express how you feel about someone. Anyway, kinda curious what other people have to say about this song. What do you think motivates you? Sadness, or happiness? And, do you think that internal happiness is universal, or internal sadness? I, as I have said a few times now, believe that everyone has a story to tell, just not everyone is brave enough to tell it. However, when I said this line to my friend, she immediately disagreed with me and insisted that some people just genuinely have never experienced something and are truly boring people. So I don't know. What do y'alls think?