Walls and Doors

Listen while you read:  https://youtu.be/AwT0MI_tlMY

Ever since the world's existed, there's one thing that is certain
There are those who build walls and those who open doors
Ah, but this, my love, I'm thinking you already knew

For some it's always winter while others have the spring
Some people find good fortune while others never find a thing
Ah, but this, my love, is something you already knew

That's how it's always been, and I know you know it
There can be freedom only when nobody owns it
I'm going to say that again because I know you know it
There can be freedom only when nobody owns it

Of what use is the moon if you don't have the night?
Of what use is a windmill with no Quixote left who'll fight?
Ah, but this, my love, is something you already knew
At some point on the horizon sky can be confused with earth
Some people dream of God while others dream of wealth
But of course, my love, this is what you see out on the street
It's how it's always been, and I know you know it
There can be freedom only when nobody owns it
Let me say that again because I know that we both know it
There can be freedom only when nobody owns it

Ever since the world's existed, there's one thing that is certain
Some people build walls
Others open doors

~  Carlos Varela (English translation by Jackson Browne)

Carlos Varela, loved and respected in his native Cuba, was part of the musical movement "la Nueva Trova" in the late 1960s. Critical of the Cuban regime, Varela is, nonetheless, not a dissident. He understands the mixed feelings, loyalties, and ideologies of the Cuban people. And although you might think that he wrote this song about building walls very recently, "Muros y Puertas" was written years ago. Jackson Browne translated and recorded his friend's song on Standing in the Breach, his 2014 release. Varela plays acoustic guitar on the recording, and it is his voice you hear at the end of the song. Varela has also teamed up with the likes of Bonnie Raitt and Dave Matthews.

I've been feeling world-weary lately. Aside from the political nightmare that only gets worse every day, I've also been dealing with some personal issues, same as you, I would guess. Worries over the health and happiness of friends and loved ones eventually takes a toll, and sometimes, we just need to sink into the sadness in order to pull ourselves up out of it again. Having had my credit card hacked . . . AGAIN! . . . did not help. Futile as it is, I try to wrap my head around the proliferation of evil and greed all around us. Tilting at windmills.

It's how it's always been, and I know you know it. I do know it; am I wrong to still want it to change? In an interview with Rockcellar Magazine on the political nature of Standing in the Breach, Jackson commented, "I'm just trying to refer to these things that everybody's going through, and to refer to them in a way that shows that at the heart of it is the idea that I'm glad to be alive now when these problems need to be solved. I'm glad to be here now when I'm needed and we're all needed. I'm glad to be engaged with these problems and not living through some escapist idea of wishing I lived a thousand years ago or at some point in the future."

One thing of which I am quite certain:  the answer is in opening doors, not building walls.