The song by Elton John has been one of my favorites for years. Never really knew why. I sang it as a boy and did not even know all the words. Maybe I am beginning to, finally. It was not until 2006 or so that I figured out that one line that said “Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone.” I have no idea what words I used to sing during that part. But I remember the haunting emotions it stirred in me as a boy. How I would allow my soul to open as I sang along with the AM radio. There were a few songs like this one that have always moved me, and still do. I’ve not heard many of them on the radio though. Not for a long time.
Maybe it has something to do with much of my childhood happening during the space race, the nuclear threat, and the social ferment that was going on all around me. I did not understand it but I felt it. I am sure there were issues in our family that contributed to my emotional connection to the song as well. I know Elton may have had his own reasons for singing the song I still wonder why a 9-10 year old boy would.
I don’t have anything really profound to say about this. I am just observing. Observing, I think in a different way and from a new perspective, for me anyway. It is difficult to put my finger on and say definitively this or that. But what I have observed is that there is a hall of mirrors. That in itself is huge for me. For all the “education” I have, I wonder if much of it only added new wings, new distractions to the hall, I learned philosophy and theology and many flavors of depth psychology. Tons of “ologies”. Really “ology” just means “the study of”. Not that big a deal. Sounds cool though. Unless you have read through all those books and get to the end and figure out they only knew a little bit, just like most people. I knew about many things and it was good information. But to know about a thing and to know the thing itself are very different.
So here I am almost fifty-two and just now beginning to begin. But its OK that I may be just starting. I am just glad to finally get going. It is difficult sometimes to poke our heads out and look around for the first time. It is confusing and painful to see the many familiar reflections and begin to sort through what it all means. But it can be really cool too, And you don’t have to learn a bunch of new words that belong to other people. Bruce Lee was cool in “Enter the Dragon.” He finally started breaking the mirrors so he could see his enemy. I think that when I get around to doing that I will find me looking back. That is what all the books seem to say in one form or another. Guess now it is just time to do it rather than sit around and be profound about the idea of it. No matter how cool that can be. Be Groovy!