View from Down the Road

You needed everything to happen

According to the rules that you demand

But things don't turn out as you expected

You never seemed to get the upper hand

Tell me how you came up empty

Even after all the stuff you know

You thought that all the good things would come easy

But instead you sat and watch them go

It's like being trapped inside a mine shaft

But you never found the mother lode

You're gonna have to crawl out to the surface

To see the view from down the road

You seem to have a lot of stuff to show off

But none of it is what you really need

You've burned all your bridges as you crossed them

And fed the emptiness you feel with greed

You can't seem to stop accumulating

You're buried in the baggage that you've stowed

You're gonna have to let go of your hoarding

So you can see the view from down the road

It is time to make some changes

So clean your mind and clean your soul

You'll find out that once you do this

You'll never have to feel there's no control

So give yourself a new beginning

Things will happen in a different mode

Everything will have a new perspective

When you take the view from down the road

How did this happen, that we're living in a great divide

Politics, race and religion push us to choose a side

Everyone yells ever louder because they feel they're right

In truth, there is nothing in this world that is truly black or white

We end up talking past each other without ever asking why

But life exists seen through a hundred prisms like a dragonfly

The media twists everything

To be the things they think that we should hear

But we fear what we don't understand

And we hate the things we fear

Everyone keeps digging in because we are all afraid to lose

But we can all meet in the middle if that is what we choose

It's not a crime if you agree to say yes to compromise

But don't get trapped by tunnel vision like a dragonfly

When things are bound together it is

Hard to see the forest for the trees

We need to work together or all of us will end up on our knees

Just like there's no beauty

Once you rip the flowers from the stem

We won't survive unless we put an end to us and them

We can make a difference in the world

But we can't be standing by

We can't sit still on top of different fenceposts like a dragonfly

To lean in and make the effort is a noble thing to try

We all deserve the chance to soar on wings like a dragonfly

I've made the observation across so many years

That both joy and sadness can cause you many tears

When friends become enemies it ruins what they had

They miss the subtle changes that turn things from good to bad

Once you've started down that road it's hard to turn around

Arguments grow louder as each one stands their ground

Walking on the eggshells afraid of what to do

Baiting each with put-downs and then taking up the cue

Whatever happened to working as a team?

I can clearly see here that things aren't what they seem

Why couldn't you be patient, why couldn't you unwind?

How come you never seemed to be able to be kind?

They never were content with how much they could take

They never could accept all the things they thought were fake

Hoping for a miracle that things would reconcile

But that would never happen when they're living in denial

Y'all never had the mindset to do what you were told

And frankly all this shit you've generated's getting old

There's no good explanation or a reason I can find

How come you never seemed to be able to be kind?

Putting on the pretense of pretending things are great

They were trapped inside of it and couldn't change their fate

The only way to survive was finally step away

Then they seemed surprised when things turned out that way

Was there a hidden lesson or something else to find?

They couldn't see solutions through the rage that made them blind

Why was there no forgiveness, why were you so resigned?

How come you never seemed to be able to be kind?

Misty horizon, fog lifting from the water,

What future will be?

A new day dawning, the mountains now seem closer,

Can you also see?

The sun has risen, sunglasses necessary,

The future is bright

Life is worth living, I have more contributions,

these are in my sight

Where am I going, I need to make arrangements,

Where I want to be

You are my soulmate, my lover and companion,

Will you come with me?

Tell me you love me, to be part of our future,

We want things the same

Working together, we'll accomplish many things,

teamwork is the name

So let's get going, arrangements have all been made,

Come along with me

You are my soulmate, my lover and companion,

Living life as "we"

There are many things in life that make it interesting to "be"

But you can miss out if you only focus just on what you see

When you're trapped and caught up in the race

You find you have no time to catch your breath

But everything you are is a collection

Of everything between your birth and death

Don't deny the opportunity to take the time to play

It's true that every destination's just a stop along the way

Where you go and what you do are totally the choices that you make

How far do you push the envelope

When you play the game of give and take

Always learn from your mistakes and

Don't be someone who keeps driving 'round the track

Never let the dark side of rejection

Be the straw that breaks the camel's back

Don't bind yourself to all those things that other people say

You'll see that every destination's just a stop along the way

Don't waste the chance to make yourself

Rise up and seize the day

Remember every destination's just a stop along the way

The breeze is blowing softly off the ocean

The pelicans glide neatly in a line

And kids are flying rainbows on strings

And waves are churning seashells in the brine

People come here traveling miles in hundreds

To recharge themselves and start anew

They come escaping suburbs and the office

But I come here to sit and think of you

What is it about the beaches

That days are spent watching the sea?

There is such peace within my soul

Knowing that you're watching here with me

The summer sun is shining brightly

The tourists turn all red in their content

The sea gulls fly and call out softly

I find this tranquilness is heaven-sent

What is it about the beaches

That brings us clarity and truth?

There is such peace within my soul

As I see myself in children's youth

The days grow shorter, summer's ended

Deserted shores become the plover's reign

The dolphins call but no one answers

Seems everyone has left behind their pain

What is it about the beaches

That makes the sea gulls fly and sing?

There is such peace within my soul

To know what possibilities can bring

I started on this journey a long, long time ago

Looking for a purpose but unsure how I'd know

You have to choose the path for the life you live yourself

Do you leave a legacy or just put it on a shelf

Tell me if I'm right, tell me if I'm sane

Tell me if I'm crazy that I'd do it all again

Time gives you the clarity to see where you have been

You see all the good you've done but also see the sin

Is my life a minus, a net zero, or a plus?

Did I make a difference to the rest of us?

Count yourself lucky if in the end you've met

All the goals you set out and can leave with no regret

Being with your loved ones through the good times and the bad

Taking advantage of opportunities you've had

Learning and growing is a never-ending task

If you can do all these, then that's all that you can ask

So I continue ever closer to the finish line

I own this life I've lived and know that it's mine

He's got his beer and pickup truck and he's heading out of town

He sees the way they look at him but it don't get him down

They make it sound like treason that he'd choose to live this way

But he's just a single good ol' boy and he don't care what they say

Living in a trailer but he lets nothing go to waste

He puts Season All on everything because he really likes the taste

He's living on his own but he's not that hard to find

He's just a single good ol' boy and he doesn't really mind

He shares his single bed with a Labradoodle he calls Tate

Now this might seem a bit peculiar but, his company is great

So please don't you be put off by the cover of his books

He's just a single good ol' boy and he's fine with the way he looks

Someday things might get better but someday's not here yet

So in the meantime he accepts that it's as good as it can get

No need for feeling sorry and you don't need to pray

He's just a single good ol' boy and his sky is never grey

Don't worry 'bout tomorrow 'cause it's just another day

And he's just a single good ol' boy and he's gonna be okay

Age gives you perspective to see other points of view

Not everyone achieves this if it's not inside of you

Some folks call this wisdom and I suppose it is indeed

But the focus shifts from what you want

Towards the things you need

I've faced down many options in my life and made a choice

Did I factor what was near me or did I hear a herald's voice?

We've all had to choose some paths not knowing what was best

But we cannot beat ourselves up with things we've second-guessed

The sum total of all we've ever done is like putting beans into a jar

Every day gives another chance to add one more bean to who we are

A wise man once told me with words that turned out true

Make the best with what you have in everything you try to do

Act like the best job ever is the one you have right now

Then your future will become what is without the need to worry how

The sum total of our life's events is

Something that continues to append

But where we thought we might be going

Seldom turns out to be where we will end

People come and go in life, crossing paths with things to say

Some remain for many years and others seem to fade away

Hindsight often helps us to more clearly see the clue

Were you brought here for them or was it

Them brought here for you?

The sum total of every intercourse is the main reason we all are here

So with an honest effort to treat each other well

The end will bring us nothing we should fear

There's a universal question for the human race

What to do and how to live a life is what we face

From the mountaintop and as far as you can see

It's all out there somewhere but what's out there for me?

You must find your own way said the father to the son

The wanderlust that drives us is what keeps us moving on

How do you find the way when you don't know what to do?

The wanderlust will resonate with what's inside of you

Some folks keep moving to keep roots from putting down

While others find their comfort in surroundings of a town

You might find an oasis passing through the desert dry

But after you have found it, then what is next to try?

One size doesn't seem to fit anyone at all

It's wanderlust that makes us chase an answer to the call

We might find our nirvana just past the river bend

But wanderlust will make us make the choices we defend

You could hit a dead end when solutions have unwound

Like a narrow valley where the snow melt tumbles down

Sometimes you need to step back to more clearly see the trail

Or to pause a moment to seek shelter from the gale

But wanderlust keeps pulling like voices from a cave

Is this what we must do the find the soul we want to save?

The son said to the father, I'll find what's right for me

We undertake this journey to find out what we'll be

The geese are gathering, the wind is blowing cold

The fields have finished yielding, there's nothing left to hold

There comes a time when it's time to take the time to see

That I have to have the faith to trust in me

The geese are gathering, winter's coming soon

I feel my life is changing sure as phases of the moon

The past may hold both pain and joy but changing causes fear

I'll let it go and keep the things which I hold dear

The geese are gathering, they're somewhere far away

And leaving the familiar is the price we sometimes pay

I've had to take this journey to find out how to be

And in the process found the missing parts of me

The geese are gathering, spring has come again

They're flying home together, each drake with his hen

And I have done my penance, it's time for moving on

And I want someone like you to be the one