‘...There are things in this world of which you can never be sure
But I hope when I find me the girl that I’ve been searching for
That there will be trumpets and there will be signs...’
It was a rainy Wednesday in June, one of those rainy days that just makes the entirety of life feel truly grim. This means that today I shall write a sad song, or at least one that has a fairly sombre vibe. I’ve not long returned from a highly successful writing trip to Nashville, Tennessee and, although I’m once again worried that my well of inspiration could soon run dry after an intensive few weeks, my spirits are high and the ideas are still flowing.
Having recently had one of those conversations with a friend where we're trying to understand women (never gonna happen!) and having separated from my wife a few months before, the question is constantly on my mind; how will I know when I’ve actually found ‘the one’? His response to this eternal mystery was simply, ’you’ll know when you know!’ Sadly I had already used that golden nugget of a line while writing in Nashville, and so, still longing for some more concrete answers, today I returned to my original question..
From memory the guitar riff you hear repeated throughout the song was what really kickstarted the process, immediately giving me that John Mayer vibe that I’m forever longing to emulate! The lyrics that subsequently followed turned into a series of fairly organic questions, a mixture of romanticized diarrhea and practical observations of my own fairly prevalent insecurities.
‘...How will I know that it’s not just lust?
And how will I know when someone is willing to put up with me?...’
I can remember at the time feeling utterly fascinated by the concept that there might be one person that I was ultimately destined to be with; someone who had been created for me to love and feel loved by in return. It’s an idea that continues to fascinate me and my opinions and understanding of it are constantly evolving. However, I do think in a lot of ways that I, like many others, have often become an unassuming victim to this almost divine concept, leading me to make decisions in my own life, for better or worse, based on that romantic principle.
Now I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with being hopelessly romantic, it's just that in my experience I have found that such ideas can cause us to hold on to relationships that we would be much better letting go of, or alternatively to let go of relationships which could in fact prove truly fulfilling in the long run.
There have been many times however, when my faith in this divine notion has seemed almost unshakable. Times when for instance, I have met people with whom I have just immediately clicked, in a romantic or platonic way, and my soul has felt inexplicably reignited. For whatever reason our vibrations and our energy as individuals seem to compliment each other perfectly, like how the notes in a major or minor chord can fuse together to transport us into another frame of mind instantaneously. But life would be pretty boring if it was all just major or minor, black or white, good or bad.. what makes it really interesting is when we add some colour, or experience some kind of dischord, because ultimately I believe that we need to experience our full palette of emotions in order to appreciate the full beauty of resolve when it finally arrives!
Even if, like me, the word energy seems a little bit abstract and bull-shitty at times, I think we can all agree that every one of us experience changes in our own emotions and energy on a moment to moment basis and can normally tell when someone else’s energy is a little off. Given that our emotions and energy are constantly in flux, maybe then it is simply by chance, that when we experience those moments of real connection with another human being, it's just a case of the right combination of vibrations at the right moment in time.
In summary, and after all of the questions outlined in the lyrics of this song, I’ll more than likely still hold out hope for the trumpets but I’m not sure any of us should feel under any real pressure to wait for ‘the one’. Instead, seek out good energy and do your best to compliment that as much as possible with your own.. if you both can do the same for each other, no matter who you end up with, I think things should be alright..
Then again.. I could also be full of shit!