U2: "Staring At The Sun"

She stares in the distance. Some sort of peace has come over her, and the anxiety has disappeared as if it were boiling water that gradually cooled down. The shadows of the mountain became longer as the sun set; they are like bed sheets being pulled over her. She feels chilly and regrets not having brought her sweater along.

With isolation comes detachment, and we hear clearer in the absence of noise. A tweet at her feet. A bird peeks at her, his little head curiously turning in all directions. How many angles does it take to get a first impression? An unsolicited visitor, just like he was to her when she first met him, seemingly a decade ago. The clap of a car door, somewhere afar. She looks over her shoulder, in vain, for sounds are too fast for the human eye to catch them. There’s nothing to be seen. She turns her head back again. The bird flew off. The noise must have scared him. Or was it the rash movement she made, when the bang disturbed her in her thoughts?

Then what about him? Perhaps he merely fled like a frightened little bird, for people do not only act on events, but rather on other people’s reactions to them. She looks up at the stars, that seem to nod benevolently at her, and sighs.

SADE: "In Another Time"

In fields of memories
Grow sweetful colours
Let blossom your heart
For spring is the start
Of new encounters
Ever fonder
Ever louder
Makes you wonder
Where is the star of your inspiration
A dot of silver-shine imagination?
Do you know where you stand,
Or shall I lead you, hold your hand?

THE FOUR TOPS: “Reach Out”

Reach out, and be in touch with yourself. Don’t roam on undiscovered roads unless you want to. Pull your hand away, unless it is there to be taken. You shall not be, unless you want to be.

Stars come and go, but only those in faraway skies remain. So before you loose yourself in others, find yourself first. Be your own anchor, and let the waves trash you in vain, relentlessly, without mercy, but ever in vain. Be your own compass, and circles will surround you, pacify you with the harmony of their own symmetrical perfection. You need to be grounded first before you can take off. Just like a glass, you need to empty yourself before you can have a fulfilling life.

Hold on to the handrail, and mind your step. Go underground before you step into the light again. Retreat, like a soldier in muddy trenches. Reach out, then help others. Set them free, and you shall be free.

NO DOUBT: "Move On"

To choose doubt as a philosophy of life is akin to choosing immobility as a means of transportation.

(quote from “Life of Pi”, by Yann Martel)

PATTI SMITH: "The Warrior"

Be a warrior, not a worrier.

EVANESCENCE: "Whisper"

There’s not a word you can’t whisper. You can shout it, too. However, there’s more subtlety in the smooth sailing of words on the waves of the air, than there is in the rough unpredictability of high tide foam splashing on the breakwater. You heard what I said. There is more than one truth. So don’t claim you own it, for none of us owns anything. Property is an illusion; it’s a temporary state, a feeling of tipsiness. Nothing more than some bubbles in a glass. They rise to the sky, as if they want to escape from what holds them back. They come to the surface, desperate for fresh oxygen. Nothing matters much, as long as it matters. Indifference is the stairway to boredom. Seek your passion, and go for it. If only one out of many things, pursue it. For in the quest, is the invention. In the search, is the finding. Roads are winding, bends are there to be taken. They hold surprises. Let no one tell you what to do. Tell them what you do. Do what you want, not what is wanted.

AC/DC: "Hard As A Rock"

Uluru - Ayers Rock (Australia)

ROXETTE: "Listen To Your Heart"

The hardest conversations are those with ourselves, for we are bad listeners. Just like ears, eyes deceive as well. We can only look into one direction, either backward or forward. There is hope on the horizon, embracing undiscovered territories in the promising glow of a rising sun. Hope always lies ahead, it never comes from behind.

Torn between the head and the heart, many people ultimately tend to stay in the comfort zone of common sense, and follow logic in stead of intuition. Dreams are buried alive, for what you may gain may not seem to outweigh what you may loose. But if you don’t dream, you may never wake up. So perhaps it’s a false dilemma. Perhaps it’s just reverse, and following the call of your heart is actually the smart thing to do. The true meaning of following your head is to follow your heart.

ABBA: "Take A Chance On Me"

Non quia difficilia sunt, non audemus; sed quid non audemus, difficilia sunt.

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult."

(Seneca, Epistuale Morales 104.26)

MUSE: "Time Is Running Out"

When you walk, do you count time, or distances? What’s the measure word for “far” and “near”? Is it hours, or miles? Is it seconds, or meters? And does it even matter? Can you walk so slowly that time actually catches up on you? And can you run so fast that you leave it far behind you?