Falling Down

We are all apt to believe what the world believes about us.
George Eliot (1819 - 1880)

Have you heard the song "Falling Down," by Atreyu? Driving home from work Thursday night this song came on the radio. I'd heard it before, but that night it caught my ear a bit more than usual.

I've had some time to think about what I wanted to say about this song, and keep going between a few different(?) themes...

1. I'm falling down... We're all dying in the end.

The idea of depravity and death in sin was one of the first thoughts that came to mind when reflecting on this song.

2. It's in your head... All the voices mistaken. (Shake it off, shake it off).

Donald Miller has a book called "Searching For God Knows What," in which there is a bit about a lifeboat and the way that we as humans think that the size of the lifeboat is smaller than it really is, that it won't last, and that we try to justify why we should stay in, and others should give up their spot in the boat. I'd go into it a bit more, but I don't want to spoil that chapter for you. This book is worth the read.

2.5. What are the voices in your head?

When I came in the that night (or maybe it was the next morning), I saw the quote by Eliot. "We are all apt to believe what the world believes about us." Amazing quote, given the timing of it. Did you know that ol' George's real name was really Mary Ann Evans, and that she published under a man's pen name so that her work would be taken seriously in her day?

I found it interesting that the opening lines of the song were:

"You're always looking back / Running from the past / You're always sweating me / About the next big heart attack / You're always looking over you're shoulder / Staring down the path / I'm falling down, falling down, falling down"

Notice that it's "you" telling "me" about what to worry about, though "you" are "looking over your shoulder"... Something comes to mind about logs and splinters, and eyes.

The voices are, all to often, mistaken. They can be loud, however.

Do you hear the cries of "failure" and "@#$% up" louder than you hear the voice saying "My son. My daughter."? Can you hear the Father calling you a child of the king, or do you hear what a lost world is telling you that you have to worry about?

I'm still not sure I've unearthed everything that is hiding in my mind about the correlation between this song and this quote. I think that I'll go ahead and publish and come back to this some other time, perhaps.

Thoughts?