
The Only Worthwhile Thing
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existence. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery each day. ― Albert Einstein, "Old Man's Advice to Youth: 'Never Lose a Holy Curiosity.'" LIFE Magazine (2 May 1955) p. 64”
It can be a challenge to stay curious, especially about the one thing we assume we know inside and out: ourselves.

But how can we know ourselves when we are constantly changing, growing, and adapting to new circumstances? The person we believe ourselves to be is just a collection of stories and ideas we have about ourselves, most of them based on the reactions of those around us.
The question of who and what we are is always an open question. Our role is not actually to know ourselves, but to stay curious about ourselves. To meet and re-meet ourselves daily. To remain in awe over the mystery of our existence, to wonder what we might be capable of, and to continually offer ourselves new opportunities for self-discovery.

This week, for example, I discovered that I enjoy writing song lyrics.
I got a request, out of the blue, from a musician who is looking for a lyricist, for an example of my songwriting skills. I hadn't even attempted to write song lyrics in years, though I was quite the jr. lyricist as a kid. But I figured, what the hell? I'm always up for an adventure.
So I listened to some of his favorite musicians, went for a walk to let the inspiration simmer, and then sat down to write.
Then I resisted the overwhelming urge to judge what I had written, and sent it on its way.
I don't know if anything will come of it, and honestly I don't much care. It was a lovely reminder that there are no limitations on our creativity.
Here's what I came up with. Enjoy!
The Only Worthwhile Thing
She always hears the lyrics
No matter how hard she tries
To ring her ears not to hear it
Still the words fill up her eyes
With an ocean of hoarded-up feelings
With her notions of boarded-up dreams
So she sings out a shower of longing
She sends out an S-O-N-G
To conjure a kindred spirit
Oh but he only hears the beat
And somewhere he is dancing
All barefoot in the sand
While somewhere she is singing
To the hairbrush in her hand
And someday she will dance
And someday he will sing
The day they take a chance
On the only worthwhile thing
He only hears a beat
Feels it pounding in his chest
It spreads down to his feet
Spurs him to step into mess after mess
There’s a wreckage of hearts left behind him
Like jellyfish moored on the shore
It gets harder and harder to find him
Not even he tries anymore
To conjure a kindred spirit
Who can read between the beat
And somewhere she is singing
To the hairbrush in her hand
While somewhere he is dancing
All barefoot in the sand
And someday she will dance
And someday he will sing
The day they take a chance
On the only worthwhile thing
She whispers her song on the subway
For cover, she cradles her phone
And pretends to be serenading
A someone who she’s never known
An old woman hears her and shifts in her seat
Offers a false-toothed grin and a wink
Startled, she freezes and pockets the phone
Cuz what would all these strangers think
If they knew she was calling a kindred
Whose rhythm she feels in her feet
And somewhere he is dancing
All barefoot in the sand
While somewhere she is singing
To the cell phone in her hand
And someday they will dance
And someday they will sing
The day they take a chance
On the only worthwhile thing
If you ask him where he heard it
He’d say “your guess is as good as mine”
That’s exactly how he’d word it
Then he’d offer you a glass of wine
He’d pretend to listen to your dreams and fears
And all the stories of your sordid past
But the truth is he cannot hear you
The words simply can’t make it past
The driving beat of his kindred’s feet
Approaching along her path
For somewhere she is dancing
Her way down to the sand
And somewhere he is calling out
For her to take his hand
And someday they will dance
And someday they will sing
The day they take a chance
On the only worthwhile thing