"Invisible" through the eyes of a fan

Once in a while a song comes along that touches you and seems to speak to you directly … almost as if the song was written, especially for you. It doesn’t happen often to me because I usually have a few songs reflecting certain aspects of what is happening in my life and I always had this notion that, one day, one song would make its appearance that would contain everything I’ve been searching for. And it did. A few weeks ago U2’s new single, ‘Invisible’ was made available for free download from iTunes – an initiative they struck with Bank of America to donate $1.00 for every time the song is downloaded from anywhere in the world.

Almost immediately, with the first few opening notes, the song immediately zeroed in and captured me completely. I loved the intro to the song and the bass and drums cemented my feeling of something special I was about to hear for the first time. The men of U2 didn’t disappoint. On the contrary, they showed me once again why they were still around more than 30 years later. This song is a new invention. It is back to basics. They have given us a song, an anthem of sorts we could sing with on top of our voices, our fists punching the air to accentuate a particular phrase we feel at one with.

The more I listened to the song, the deeper I was drawn in until I could hear the melody and lyrics in my head, reverberating through ever cell of my being. I became one with the song. The lyrics became my mantra, owning me and I couldn’t escape it … and neither did I want to. The song dared me to dream out loud, to take ownership of who, I am and where I’m going to. The song is a powerful reminder of my journey and all I’ve accomplished.

‘It’s like the smoke just cleared the room …’

                                                 

The opening lyrics excite me every time. For me, it is a metaphor of someone who has finally come to a ground-breaking realisation. It is me, waking up from a slumber of the constant barraging of how we’re supposed to live our lives and who we’re supposed to be. I don’t want to be this creature conforming to society’s norms … I want to be me! I want to be unique, one of a kind, and I want the world to know I dare to be different.

For many years I’ve suppressed the real me because to be different was and still is, something to be frowned upon. I believe in dreams coming true, my guardian angels watching over me, stars directing my fate, soul mates and all things I can’t see with the physical eye. Some accused me for believing in fairy tales, berated me for being a dreamer and told me more times I care to remember that I should wake up and change my belief system. Being unique and being me was not acceptable. Or rather, the people around me are of that mind-set and I have allowed myself to be smothered with things that slowly but surely deprived my heart and soul of teaching me who I really am.

‘I finally found my real name,

I won’t be me when you see me again …’    

This is my conviction. I am not the same person anymore. I have finally found myself and I am happy within my skin. I am grateful for who I am, what I believe in and what I stand for … even if you don’t believe in me.

‘I’m more than you know
I’m more than you see here
More than you let me be
I’m more than you know
A body in a soul
You don’t see me but you will
I am not invisible …

I can’t go back just being another face in the crowd. I want to stand out, living my life the way I’m supposed to and society doesn’t have a say in it anymore. I finally had the courage to throw off the shackles that have held me back – I am changed … I am me! I want the world to see and know who I am. There is so much more to me than what meets the eye. I feel, I hope, I dream, I laugh, I cry, I love. I live life the best way I know how to. I live my life the way I’m meant to live it, without any excuses.

Coming into one’s own is a heady, sometimes scary, but exhilarating experience. There is nothing else on earth than can compare when you come to the realisation who you really are. Gone are the doubts, the fears of ‘what ifs’ and maybes. I have a life … and it is my duty unto myself to be the best person I can possibly be. I don’t have to make excuses anymore. I don’t have to hide away who I am. I don’t have to fit in what is acceptable and what isn’t. I can shine my light. I can come out of the darkness and hiding in the dark.

  

‘There’s only you,

There’s only me,

There is no them …’

In the end, when it really matters, you will find the ‘them’ is replaced by ‘me’ more often, until it is integrated in every breath you take. It is in those quiet, joyous moments when your heart and soul will sing out loud: I am not invisible … I am HERE!

 by MJ ©MysteriousDistance