OSTRICHES: [the Myth]

This post is the first of a three-part documentation of the journey my overly-analytical mind took while hitting the replay button on the song below. Please give it a listen in its entirety before diving in; I've written out the lyrics for your convenience.

—   —   —

My False by Matt Corby

You see, I don't know where I'm running to

It's become quite hard to see

There's a guilty weight on my conscience

Of all my wrongful deeds

It's time to reconcile
It's time to reconcile

Oh, if I walk into the darkness, I'll be lost
But if I try to stay, the light will show my false

I will keep my head in the sand, dear

Let the grains block out the sun

With shame as my companion

It will stay close til I'm done

It's time to reconcile
It's time to reconcile

Oh, if I walk into the darkness, I'll be lost
But if I try to stay, the light will show my false


Oh, if I walk into the darkness, I'll be lost
But if I try to stay, the light will show my false

—   —   —

Songs are funny, cause the narrator might not necessarily be the guy who wrote it. But when I first heard the lyrics of this song, I immediately wished I could talk to the person whose sentiment they convey. Seems like a guy without much direction, doesn't it? But onward he rolls, despite the blindness, guilt, and shame that seem to be of a crippling nature.

But let's be real for a minute: if I were in a dark and unfamiliar room, I wouldn't be running. Would you? I'd be taking cautionary, investigative baby steps. I'd be doubled over, arms outstretched, checking that I'm not about to bash my shins on the corner of a metal coffee table or something heinous like that.

YET THIS WORLD IS FULL OF PEOPLE
MOVING AT 100 MILES PER HOUR
WHO WOULD READILY ADMINT

THAT THEY'VE GOT NO IDEA

WHERE THEY'RE GOING.

[the Myth]

Here's how it's done: pay thousands of dollars a year so you can sleep and drink your way through college to get that degree which will enable you to work nine to five at a job that doesn't engage your mind but pays enough that you can buy the best phone, clothes, tv, car, house, whatever, and, if you're lucky, retire to a condo in Florida. It's a wonderful life...

Silly, right? Satirical. Absurd.

Except that's what people do, isn't it?

That's the American Dream.

That's our society's definition of success—

—society just uses shinier words.

If I pay attention, I don't see people thriving.
It seems like the ache of this song is echoed in the hearts of everyone around me.

And maybe you've noticed, too.
Maybe, as hard as you try,
a purposeful, beautiful, joyful life just doesn't seem to be in the cards.
So here's my question:

Is this as good as it gets?

Ostriches don't really stick their heads in the sand, did you know?

It's just a myth.

Click here for part two and here for part three.