Listen here; https://www.soundclick.com/music/songInfo.cfm?songID=14277382
As news of another senseless shooting and the loss of more innocent lives comes across the news, like many of us I am angry, frustrated, and sad. I don't want to spend time pointing fingers of blame or suggesting how the situation can change, but I do want to acknowledge the helplessness I feel right now, in the face of many situations we are facing in our lives today.
The politics and division, the violence, the war in Ukraine, folks’ standards of living being eroded by rising prices (with those least able to help themselves being affected most.) and then there are our personal losses and struggles.
It is overwhelming. Acknowledging that we are all 'battered, bruised and bewildered' is the simple message of the song. Although I wrote it as a reflection on some personal struggles I was facing, I keep returning to it whenever I feel like the storm is greater than my ability to deal with it.
In some ways it is an acknowledgment that none of us is blameless. We haven't always spoken out when we should or could have. We have remained comfortable with half-truths and easy solutions. We have compromised. We have avoided the discussion because we are not sure if we have anything more to say.
None of us knows what the future may hold. For sure the innocence that we once believed in has long since faded. But we can all acknowledge our failings of the past. And hopefully we can learn from our mistakes and move forward.
If we insist on cradling our fears and taking a road of inactivity then nothing will ever change. If we go forward with stumbling steps, at least we are moving forward!
"Just raise your glass to better days."
Battered, Bruised and Bewildered.© Adrian J Pratt May 18, 1991
Battered, bruised, and bewildered,
Wondering how my heart has become torn.
Why, oh my soul, you once flew so free,
Now you're questioning the day that you were born.
Don't know how we ever reached here,
I don't know where we should go.
Battered, bruised, and bewildered
Where this road will lead
God only knows
Remember those days of childhood innocence,
When joy and laughter filled all of our time?
But oh, my soul they seem like light years from today
And nothing I can do can bring them back now.
How do we get into these situations?
How are we so easily compromised?
Battered, bruised, and bewildered
No-one who can say
Where our future lies.
Don't say to me "I know how you're feeling"
How can anybody know?
Don't say to me
That you know that tomorrow
Will blow all my troubles away...
Just raise your glass to better days
I tell you I cannot see a way forward,
Out into the darkness I must go
Come on, oh my soul, stop cradling your fears,
Let's get out of here and move down the road.
But don't expect to see me marching in confidence,
Don't expect to find me rushing from place to place
Battered, bruised, and bewildered
It's all you can do
Just to face the day.