Everyone has a story to tell!

We maybe reluctant to tell it to just about anyone we meet because of fear about judgement/condemnation or the uncertainty of connecting /resonating with an individual on the same wavelength!

By Paul Bellett Oct. 2013

A Reflection!
This is my story, this is my song, praising my saviour all day long^. Often what matters, is that which is deep and closest to our hearts, invariably bubbles up to the surface in poems, songs, or in the hidden relational subjective fictional stories, which if you dig deep enough, ultimately expresses the worldview perspective of the author.

Take a look a couple of folk songs : Hands by Jewel

The lyric- In the end only kindness matters" ? So what does this line really mean in her situation? We are often all looking at different types/facets and levels of empathy to meet our emotional needs or perhaps some spiritual food for the soul. Jewel explained on Celebrity Close Calls, that this line was inspired by a doctor that treated her for a serious kidney infection when she had no medical insurance and was turned away by the hospital. At a February, 2008 concert in Las Vegas, Jewel explained that when she was 18, she was living in a van and did some shoplifting. She was going to take a dress when she looked at her hands and realised that she controlled them. Said Jewel, "I realised I was cheating myself. No matter how you work with your hands your own dignity is up to you." In part, the lyrics of this song are based upon the poem Poverty * by Pablo Neruda as shown in my next powerpoint slide. (Thanks, VAB - Miami, FL) On December 19, 1998, Jewel performed this in front of the Pope at the "Natale In Vaticano" concert in Vatican City, Italy. She was backed by a choir and a 100-piece orchestra.

If I could tell the world just one thing It would be that we're all OK And not to worry because worry is wasteful And useless in times like these I will not be made useless I won't be idled with despair I will gather myself around my faith For light does the darkness most fear My hands are small, I know, But they're not yours they are my own But they're not yours they are my own And I am never broken Poverty stole your golden shoes But it didn't steal your laughter And heartache came to visit me But i knew it wasn't ever after

Jewel Hands Lyrics I will get down on my knees and I will pray
I will get down on my knees and I will pray I will get down on my knees and I will pray My hands are small, I know, But they're not yours they are my own But they're not yours they are my own And I am never broken My hands are small, I know, But they're not yours they are my own But they're not yours they are my own And I am never broken We are never broken

We will fight, not out of spite For someone must stand up for what's right Cause where there's a man who has no We are God's eyes, God's hands, God's mind voice There ours shall go singing We are God's eyes, God's hands ,God's heart In the end only kindness matters In the end only kindness matters

We are God's eyes, God's hands, God's eyes God's hands We are God's hands, God's hands ,We are God's hands.

Poverty by Pablo Neruda

Ah you don't want to, you're scared of poverty, you don't want to go to the market with worn-out shoes and come back with the same old dress. My love, we are not fond as the rich would like us to be, of misery. We shall extract it like an evil tooth that up to now has bitten the heart of man. But I don't want you to fear it. If through my fault it comes to your dwelling, if poverty drives away your golden shoes, let it not drive away your laughter which is my life's bread. If you can't pay the rent go off to work with a proud step, and remember, my love, that I am watching you and together we are the greatest wealth that was ever gathered upon the earth.

The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel*

Simon found inspiration for this song in the Bible, which he would sometimes read in hotels. The lines, "Workman's wages" and "Seeking out the poorer quarters" came from those passages. This song took over 100 hours to record, with parts of it done at Columbia Records studios in both Nashville and New York City. The chorus vocals were recorded in a church: St. Paul's Chapel at Columbia University in New York. The church had a tiled dome that provided great acoustics. It was an interesting field trip for the recording crew who had to set up the equipment in the house of worship. Simon revealed that he wrote this song when critics were writing harsh things about his music - He was the boxer. Said Simon: "I think the song was about me: everybody's beating me up, and I'm telling you now I'm going to go away if you don't stop. In a 1990 interview with SongTalk magazine, Simon said: "I thought that 'lie la lie was a failure of songwriting. I didn't have any words! ,the rest of the song has enough power and emotion, I guess, to make it go, so it's all right.

I am just a poor boy. Though my story's seldom told, I have squandered my resistance For a pocket full of mumbles, Such are promises All lies and jests

The Boxer Lyrics

Then I'm laying out my winter clothes And wishing I was gone, Going home Where the New York City winters Aren't bleeding me, Leading me, Going home. In the clearing stands a boxer, And a fighter by his trade And he carries the reminders Of every glove that laid him down And cut him till he cried out In his anger and his shame, "I am leaving, I am leaving." But the fighter still remains Lie la lie Writer/s: SIMON, PAUL

Still a man hears what he wants to hear And disregards the rest.
(We tune in to what we want, and tend to tune out that which does not resonate with us ) When I left my home And my family, I was no more than a boy In the company of strangers In the quiet of the railway station, Running scared, Laying low, Seeking out the poorer quarters Where the ragged people go Looking for the places Only they would know Lie la lie Asking only workman's wages I come looking for a job, But I get no offers, Just a come-on from the whores On Seventh Avenue* I do declare, There were times when I was so lonesome I took some comfort there.

*The whores on 7th Avenue is a metaphor for the Business district of NYC where if you want soul-less automaton type work, work that doesn't fulfill what you are in life but just enough to get by, THAT is a perfect place to go, the same as you would do if somebody went to a whore. Those whores are predominantly found on 42nd Street.

Credits
http://www.songfacts.com/ * for background info & lyrics. Poverty poem by Pablo Neruda ^ Blessed assurance lyrics (J.F.Knapp - F.J.Crosby) Jewel Paul Simon