Carry On Wayward Son

On the long and treaturous road of life the wayward son still hears his father's call.

Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son

CARRY ON WAYWARD SON - KANSAS
Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Once I rose above the noise and confusion
Just to get a glimpse beyond this illusion
I was soaring ever higher
But I flew too high
Though my eyes could see
I still was a blind man
Though my mind could think
I still was a mad man
I can hear the voices when I'm dreaming
I can hear them say

Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Masquerading as a man with a reason
My charade is the event of the season
And if I claim to be a wise man
It surely means that I don't know
On a stormy sea of moving emotion
Tossed about I'm like a ship on the ocean
I set a course for winds of fortune
But I hear the voices say

Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more
No

(Carry on)
You will always remember
(Carry on)
Nothing equals the splendor
Now your life's no longer empty
Surely heaven waits for you

Carry on my wayward son
There'll be peace when you are done
Lay your weary head to rest
Don't you cry no more

Relearn Love

Man falls by turning away from authentic goodness, truth and love.  When darkness takes root in the soul and the faceless man takes over one actually loses charity or the ability to love.  Now he can only hope to respond to the call - the grace of a true conversion of heart - and a chance to relearn love.

Scott Stapp - Relearn Love

RELEARN LOVE - SCOTT STAPP
On a dark and lonely highway
I need the Son to raise my head
I come before you, I am naked
The man I am now must be shed
I’ve weathered storms and I am broken
My beaten heart is in your hands
What I really need is shelter and a chance

To relearn love
Teach me all over
All over
To relearn love
Show me again
So I can relearn love

The comfort of Your arms around me
Your tender hands caress my head
I lay beside You, I'm not worthy
This jaded man's not who I am
I’ve touched the flame and I’ve been burnt
All I need is a second chance
Give me eyes of a child
And teach this man

To relearn love
Teach me all over
All over
To relearn love
Show me again
Show me again
So I can relearn love

I was selfish, but You still loved me
You gave the greatest gift of all and it set me free
When time means nothing, and your world is standing still
Listen world, He’s calling: if you feel me drop and kneel
Can you feel it?
Just remember, oh oh remember
To relearn love

To relearn love
Show me again
To relearn love (Relearn my love)
Teach me all over
All over, to relearn love (Show me, show me)
Show me again (To relearn my love)
To relearn love (Teach me now, now)
Teach me all over, all over (Relearn my love)
To relearn love (To relearn, relearn my love)
Show me again

So I can relearn love

Rain

It is normal to stumble and fall while carrying on the good fight.  It takes honesty and humility to recognize our failings and courage to ask for help - a cleansing and a new beginning.  

Creed - Rain

RAIN - CREED
Can you help me out, can you lend me a hand?
It's safe to say that I'm stuck again
Trapped between this life and the light
I just can't figure out, how to make it right...

A thousand times before
I've wondered if there's something more... something more...

I feel it's gonna rain like this for days
So let it rain down and wash everything away
I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine
With every tomorrow comes another life...

I feel it's gonna rain, for days and days
(I feel it's gonna rain)
I tried to figure out, I can't understand...
What it means... to be whole again...
Trapped between the truth and the consequence
Nothing's real, nothing's making sense...

A thousand times before
I've wondered if there's something more... something more...

I feel it's gonna rain like this for days
So let it rain down and wash everything away
I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine
I feel it's going to rain like this... rain like this... rain like this...

Fall down, wash away my yesterdays
Fall down, so let the rain fall down on me...

I feel it's gonna rain like this for days
Let it rain down and wash everything away
I hope that tomorrow the sun will shine
I feel it's going to rain like this... rain like this...

So let the rain fall...
I feel it's gonna rain like this... rain like this...
So let the rain fall down...
I feel it's gonna rain like this...

I feel it's gonna rain.

Good Fight

The full potential of human development is not attained without an epic inner struggle.  We must subdue the "faceless man" in order to become fully ourself.  Each virtue to nurture and develop has an opposing vice to battle against.  This is the good fight.

Creed - Good Fight

GOOD FIGHT - CREED
I give my all my everything
Anything you want I've tried to be
I tried, god knows I tried
Or am I stuck somewhere between
Who I am and who I hope to be
Am I fighting the good fight

Keep pressing on
Fight the good fight
Fight, what you know is wrong
Keep pressing on
Fight the good fight
Fight, what you know is wrong

I've come so far to fall too fast
As for? I can't look back I try
God knows I try
I shift my eyes to the sky
In the distance see the horizon line
She waits for me
Fighting the good fight

Keep pressing on
Fight the good fight
Fight, what you know is wrong
Keep pressing on
Fight the good fight

Fight, what you know is wrong

I give my all my everything
Anything you want I strive to be
Am I stuck somewhere between
Who I am and who I hope to be
Fighting, I'm fighting
Fighting the good fight
Am I stuck somewhere in between
Who I am and who I hope to be

Keep pressing on
Fight the good fight
Fight, what you know is wrong
Keep pressing on
Fight the good fight
Fight, what you know is wrong

Remember that
Sometimes I fall in between
The nights blue moon and the shadows
Fight on, Fight the good fight
What you know is wrong
I'll keep fighting
Fight on, keep fighting the good fight
Fight on, fight on

Faceless Man

In order to fully realize our human potential and attain our final end, we must choose to stand against the faceless man -- that inner weakness that threatens to cast us back into the void.  But we can't accomplish this by our own efforts alone.  The true face inside us needs outside assistance from the true light -- otherwise we may never make it home.       

Creed - Faceless Man

FACELESS MAN - CREED
I spent a day by the river
It was quiet and the wind stood still
I spent some time with nature
To remind me of all that's real
It's funny how silence speaks sometimes when you're alone
And remember that you feel
I said it's funny how silence speaks sometimes when you're alone
And remember that you feel
Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man
Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man

Now I saw a face on the water
It looked humble but willing to fight
I saw the will of a warrior
His yoke is easy and His burden is light

He looked me right in the eyes
Direct and concise to remind me
To always do what's right
He looked me right in the eyes
Direct and concise to remind me
To always do what's right

Again I stand. Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man
Again I stand. Lord, God I stand,
against the Faceless Man

'Cause if the face inside can't see the light
I know I'll have to walk alone
And if I walk alone to the other side
I know I might not make it home

Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man
Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man

Next time I see this face
I'll say I choose to live for always
So won't you come inside And never go away
Next time I see this face
I'll say I choose to live for always
So won't you come inside And never go away

Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man
Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man
Again I stand, Lord I stand,
against the Faceless Man

Slip To The Void

What happens when we stray from the path directing us toward our transcendent goal?  We enter a state of existence where we truly "don't belong."  The "moment we let love go" (the virtue of charity) we slip to the void and experience a kind of hell on earth that is empty of all true meaning and happiness.  Here is another piece from Alter Bridge reflecting the darker side of human existence. 

Alter Bridge - Slip To The Void

SLIP TO THE VOID - ALTER BRIDGE
Slip to the void
To the dark
To the fall
Crawl to the life you shouldn't know
You should never come this way
To test the hands of fate
You don't belong here

Peel back the skin
Close your eyes
Hell is born
To the abyss, but be warned
You fear what you've become
My God what have you done?
You don't belong here

But it's all in the way
You touch and you obey
Denial

But it's all in the way
You touch and you obey
Denial

Sever the ties
Trip the wire
Take your hold
Doubt is alive and you know
You were once led to believe
You were young and so naive
And now no longer
But it's all in the way
You turn your back today

Left to face this alone
Left to die with nothing you can own
Left to break in the cold
In the void that you made
The moment you let love go

Try win back your days
You let them all escape your heart
Now that you've come so far
Why did you have to fall so hard?
Look at what you've done
What have you become?

Left to face this alone
Left to die with nothing you can own
Left to break in the cold
In the void that you made
The moment you let love go
You let love go
You let love go
You let love go

Words Darker Than Their Wings

I want to kick this off with the song Words Darker Than Their Wings by Alter Bridge.  Some have described this song as a kind of "discussion of faith" between vocalists Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti.  I think this piece reflects a transcendent vision of the human person and expresses the truth that man is made to encounter the absolute (God).  Yet, man must follow the path of light in order finally to arrive at truth alone.

     

Alter Bridge - Words Darker Than Their Wings

WORDS DARKER THAN THEIR WINGS - ALTER BRIDGE
They say you are right
I hope that I'm wrong
I know that you tried
But still it is gone

Just don't you lose hope
I swear I've never dreamed that we're alone
But don't you let go
I swear I still believe though I don't know

Remember the years
I still walk tall
I only fear
Now I only crawl

How could I be wrong?
I hope there comes a day your fear is gone
How could we be lost?
Lost just cease to be not carry on

Into the light may you fall
Into the light may you follow
Into the light may you know
Truth alone

Into the light may you fall
Into the light may you follow
Into the light may you know
Truth alone
Truth alone

You can love someone
Go never to ask why
Or to fear again
Go find your peace tonight
Go set out towards the Sun
Let the new begin
Go soon your day will come.
Day will come

Into the light may you fall
Into the light may you follow
Into the light may you know
Truth alone

Into the light may you fall
Into the light may you follow
Into the light may you know
Truth alone
Truth alone
Truth alone
Truth alone
Truth alone

The purpose of this Blog

This blog will attempt to explore various aspects of the truth about God, man and the world through the eyes of popular culture.  In this sense, theologians, philosophers and artists can each consider many of the same questions - but under a different light.  I hope to cover the major transcendental ideas such as oneness, truth, goodness and beauty.  I also expect that we will explore aspects of the three theological virtues: faith, hope and love.  In addition, I expect we will take a look at a variety of natural virtues as well as their opposing vices.  Finally, I expect that we will touch on a variety of related themes such as happiness, freedom, peace, sin, grace and eternal life.

It is my intent to build a kind of "collection of art" that will reflect aspects of a true and authentic humanism.  True humanism recognizes the transcendent dimension of man and employs an open exchange between the lights of both faith and reason.  With this criteria in mind I hope to promote in some small way the goal of integral human development.  Finally, in addition to my own personal enjoyment, this blog is open to all those in pursuit of the true and the good.