Although I don't consider myself a huge fan, I was very impressed by the depth conveyed by Alanis Morissette in a Chicago Social magazine interview. The article reported that after the explosion of fame in response to Jagged Little Pill, Morissette sought refuge on a six-week trip to India where she studied yoga, meditation and volunteered at Mother Teresa's orphanage. She wrote the song Thank You about her experience.
I listened again to the song today and it's a phenomenally powerful anthem. It's very Buddhist in nature - the idea of accepting all emotions - even if they are painful or uncomfortable. That they all serve a transformative purpose in our lives and can be doors, windows or bridges if we allow them to be.
This is the kind of song that deserves a private & fervid karaoke session in one's living room. Definitely beats a self-help book or therapy!
The song echoes the gorgeous advice of the 13th century mystic poet, Rumi:
"This being human is a guesthouse
Every morning a new arrival
A joy, a depression, a meanness
Some momentary awareness
Comes as an unexpected visitor
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows
Who violently sweep your house
Empty of its furniture
Still treat each guest honorably
He may be cleaning you out
For some new delight!
The dark thought, the shame, the malice
Meet them at the door laughing
And invite them in
Be grateful for whoever comes
Because each has been sent
As a guide from the beyond."
I listened again to the song today and it's a phenomenally powerful anthem. It's very Buddhist in nature - the idea of accepting all emotions - even if they are painful or uncomfortable. That they all serve a transformative purpose in our lives and can be doors, windows or bridges if we allow them to be.
This is the kind of song that deserves a private & fervid karaoke session in one's living room. Definitely beats a self-help book or therapy!
The song echoes the gorgeous advice of the 13th century mystic poet, Rumi:
"This being human is a guesthouse
Every morning a new arrival
A joy, a depression, a meanness
Some momentary awareness
Comes as an unexpected visitor
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows
Who violently sweep your house
Empty of its furniture
Still treat each guest honorably
He may be cleaning you out
For some new delight!
The dark thought, the shame, the malice
Meet them at the door laughing
And invite them in
Be grateful for whoever comes
Because each has been sent
As a guide from the beyond."
