I Don't Need A Soul

This is the second song on Forget And Not Slow Down.  I really dig the Relient K sound on this record.  It was probably the most guitar-driven album they've released.  I love the way that the beats come straight at me, enveloping me in sonic joy.  And that's before I even listen to the lyrics...

"It feels like everything is dying at the pivot point of me;
I listen to the sirens tell me things could still be worse."

One of the enduring themes of the album is that life doesn't end when seemingly monumental happenstances seek to bring us down.  Our lives are so much bigger than one person or one event.  We play a pivotal role in the lives of many people.  They rely on us to bring joy or to be a crying shoulder or to just be someone to talk to.  In the same way, we need others to do the same for us.  But that's the thing - it's "others," as in the plural version.  One individual, while having an extremely impactful influence on our lives, is not the only one who cares.  We have others.  And life is not over.  There are so many terrible things going on in the world, and the sirens in the song are a way to keep us grounded.  I think this is one of the most important ideas to remember.  There are people worse off.  If we don't pick up our compartively amazing lives, then we are insulting those who actually have it bad.  It's a sucky thought to be sure, but, as Jimmy Carter would say, "it is the truth and it is a warning."

"'Cause if you close your eyes and listen close,
You can hear the chapter close...
'Cause if this was our destiny I'd treasure the fact
And I'd give you what's left of me if I'd held back"

Sometimes things end.  The chapter closes.  But the amazing thing about a chapter book is that there's another chapter that picks up right where the previous one left off.  The story doesn't end.  Even though we may seem like the book is done and there's no more left to write, it's an incomplete story.  There's no denoument, no conclusion, no resolution.  It reminds me of Doc Brown's final words in Back to the Future Part III: "Your future hasn't been written yet.  No one's has.  Your future is whatever you make of it.  So make it a good one."  We can't see ahead.  We don't know what's going to happen.  Our lives are up to us.  Where we go, how we react, what we do are the product of our own decisions.  We can accept the fact that the chapter is complete and start the next one, or we can mope and lament and stop reading.  Hopefully the best decision is clear.

"But I don't need a soul
No, I don't need a soul to hold.
Without you I'm still whole,
You and life remain beautiful."

When things seem rough, we are still whole.  When we lose those close, we still grasp our souls.  This is the most crucial part.  Perhaps we have spent a large amount of time relying on others and have almost forgotten how to help ourselves.  But the fact still remains: we are still wholly complete inside.  We only need to reach in and seek what was lost within.  Life is still beautiful.  People are still beautiful.  We are still beautiful.  But there comes a time when we need to be self-sufficient.  That doesn't mean we need to shut out the world.  We just need to love ourselves for who we are.

Of course, these are merely my own observations.  I'm sure everyone else has a completely different interpretation...