So, it was pretty windy on the way to work this morning. This is the time of the year when there's lots of tumbleweeds outside our town, too. They break off in the winter, and then the snow melts, and the march winds come. I looked out across the empty fields and saw the weeds rolling in the wind. It looked like a herd of animals all running along together.
It was kinda odd. I got to think about freedom. I know people who would look at those tumbleweeds and say that they are so free. They would say that there was nothing holding them back, and that they are free to roam wherever the wind would take them.
But that's actually where I have the problem with that as a symbol for freedom.
These weeds have no freedom. They go nowhere as a result of their own freewill. They are at the complete mercy and whim of outside forces, in this case, the wind.
I remember once a songwriting client of mine wrote a song about being as free and wild as the river. Ronnie James Dio did a song (which is a cool sounding song, even though I disagree with it) where he bemoans seeing lightning, because he sees that it's free, as he wishes he was.
Got news for you, they all go along the path of least resistance. The 'weeds, the river, and lightning all go along paths determined by other factors. No freedom here.
Maybe that's why I can relate so well to the 'weeds right now. I'm having a hard time taking a stand and walking against the wind.
MRKH
Mark Hansen
http://markhansenmusic.com
Great explanation.
ReplyDeleteHang in there Mark.