
Photo by Joe Haupt, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Remember that awesome 70s song? If you indulge in the decade’s music like I do, you’re probably thinking, Which awesome 70s song? and you have a good point; they're all great. I’m talking about “The Things We Do for Love” by 10cc. I always pictured a different band singing it, but despite Google messing with my childhood boy band memory just now, I still dig the song. A few decades later I’m sitting here listening to it on a tiny device via Pandora with a bit of a twist.
While recognizing how utterly romantic it is to consider what we will do for love, today the song makes me think of something in addition to heart-fluttering devotion. I think of the “things we do" for ourselves, our minds and bodies, to take care of our pain. I think of the big risks we take in our quest for improvement and the countless small things we do each day. If you have a lovesick heart, you may indeed find yourself “walking in the rain and the snow when there’s nowhere to go and you’re feelin’ like a part of you is dying.” If you or someone you love has pain, you might relate to my rendition of the song which mentions just a few of the “things we do” for other reasons.
Too many painful days have impeded our movement
Too many cancelled plans yet still we have some fun,
Trying our best to keep our spirits up hope
For relief from our pain, for relief from our pain
There simply is no cure but still we keep on hoping
We’ve tried a hundred things and still we'll try some more
There's really not much that we wouldn't do
For relief from our pain, for relief from our pain
Like treatments from the east and the west
Still pain's awful at best
And we're grieving how we used to move so freely
And we look for answers from our treatment team
We think they’re gonna advise
Then they only offer more sighs
Ouch, we keep our humor
Live, and hope and wed
Oh, if it was only in our head
We read about the latest research
And the things that do not work
And find ways to ease the part of us that's frightened
We get comfort from the ones who want to know
Friends who care to stay in our loops
And online or live support groups
Whew, we get so tired
Still, we live each day
No, pain will not take our lives away
For remission we'd thank our central nervous system
Some time without the pain or even gone for good
We'd throw a party and the cake would read
"Yes! We survived the pain!"
The hope helps keep us sane, the hope helps keep us sane
The hope helps keep us sane, the hope helps keep us sane
Time to scroll through my playlists and listen to some tunes!
What song(s) or type of music make you feel hopeful?