We All Got Scars

The other day I found myself driving Will's car and in the stereo was the new solo project from Nate Ruess, the lead singer of the band FUN. It was quite enjoyable so I kept listening. There was one song that jumped out of the CD player at me- a song called Harsh Lights. It's the inspiration for my post today.

Many of you know that I don't sleep very much. Bedtime is never before 11 PM and wake-up is seldom after 6 AM. Sleep is just not all that important to me, and it never has been. Unlike many insomniacs, my issue is seldom stress or worry about what is to come or things that we need in life. When laying awake at night or early in the morning, my thoughts are almost always focused on the past. On what has been and things that I once hoped or still hope could be. My needs are few, and they are not complicated. My wants are an entirely different issue. That's not healthy either, but my brain is not easily turned off at such times. And the line between past and present gets blurry. Nate says it like this:

And it's so hard just to be
There's such a fine line between the things you want
And the things that you need
So I'm not going to sleep

My mind often turns to those I've offended and those whose love I've lost along the road. I am reminded of failed ventures and lost dreams. The struggles with the past are real, and often life is viewed through what Ruess calls a "harsh light." But in that light we discover one incontrovertible truth- "we all got scars." Everyone falls and everyone fails- and we have to move on. Again, Nate's words:

I'm slipping into midnight under harsh light
And nothing gets me down
Running into old friends I don't need anymore
Tonight I'm gonna show 'em
We all got scars, we all got scars
We all got scars, we all got scars, so what?
I'm slipping into midnight under harsh light
And nothing here is bringing me down
No, nothing here is bringing me down

Regret is such a huge word for so many of us. But there comes a times when we have to cast them aside, we have to go out and face not only who we are but who we can still become...

And my heart is always breaking for the ghosts that haunt this room
We fall asleep to revolution, but wake up next to a sad excuse
Oh, what a shame how we got in our own way
So tonight I'm going out, tonight I'm gonna stay out
And it's so hard not to scream (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
There's such a fine line between the things you are and the
And the things that you've been...

For so many of us our scars are a reminder of the pain and failures of times gone by. But scars can serve another purpose as well. They can serve as a reminder that we are not alone in this world, that the struggles we face are the same as so many who walk the road of life with us. My nights will probably not get longer and my sleep will likely remain restless. But I'm okay with that. We all got scars. And we all have to live with them.

Peace, my friends,