WoRds To LiVe
bY
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living...
I want to know you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your hearts longing.
It doesn't interest how old you are...
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon...
I want to know if you have touched the center of your sorrow, If you've been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain. I want too know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with Joy, mine or your own.
If you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill to your fingertips and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true...
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty, even when not pretty, everyday and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and skill stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the moon, "yes!!"
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after a night of greif and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't matter to me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains youm from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance.
Please don't come around talkin' bout that you love me,
Cause that love sh*t just ain't for me
I don't want to hear that you adore me
And I know that all you're doing is running your mind games
Don't you know that game peeps game?
So your best bet is to be straight with me
So you say you wanna talk, let's talk
If yoou wan't talk I'll walk, yeah it's like that
Got a new man, he's waiting out back
Now what! whatcha think about that?
Now when I say I'm through I'm through
Basically I'm through with you
Whatcha' wanna say?
Had to have it your way, had to play games
Now your begging me to stay.
There you go, lookin' pitful
Just because I let you go
There you go, talkin' bout how you want me back
But sometimes it be's like that, so
There you go, talkin' about you miss me so, that you love me so,
Why I let you go?
Yeah you know cause your lies got old
Look at you, there you go!
Please don't come aroound talkin' bout how you've changed
How you said good-bye to what's her name
All it sounds like to me is new game
And I was right when I thought I'd be much better off without you
Had to get myself from round you,
Cause my life was all about you.
So you say you wanna talk, I don't
Say you wanna change, I won't
Yeah it's like that
Had your chance, won't take you back
Now what! Whatcha' think about that?
When I say I'm through, I'm through
Basically I'm through with you
Whatcha' wanna say?
Had to have it your way, had to play games
Now you're begging me to stay
Oooh, Don't you wish you could turn the hands of time?
Don't you wish that you still were mine?
Don't you wish I'd take you back?
Don't you wish things were simple like that?
Don't miss a good thing til' it's gone,
But I knew it wouldn't be long
Til'you came running back, missng my love THERE YOU GO!!
Consciousness is that annoying thing that happens between naps.
I hate the world today
You're so good to me I know but i can't change
Tried to tel you but you look at me like maybe I'm an angel underneath
Innocent and sweet
Yesterday I cried, must have been a relief to see the softer side
I can understand how you'd be so confused, I don't envy you
I'm a little bit of everything all rolled into one!
I'm a bitch, I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother
I'm a sinner, I'm a saint, I do not feel ashamed
I'm your hell, I'm your dream, I am nothing in between
You know you wouldn't want it any other way
So take me as I am
This may mean you'll have to be a stonger man
Rest assured that when I start to make you nervous
And I am going to extremes
Tomorrow I will change and today won't mean a thing
Just when you think you've got me figured out
The seasons already changing
I think it's cool you do what you do
And don't try to save me
I'm a bitch, I'm a tease, I'm a goddess on my knees
When you're hurt, when you suffer, I'm your angel undercover
I've been up, I'm revived, Can't say I'm not alive
You know you wouldn't want in any other way!!
God gave us two ears and one mouth, which means that we should listen twice as much as we speak.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’98... wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future,
Sunscreen would be IT.
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists
Whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth.
Never mind.
You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me,
In 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself
And recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
You and how fabulous you really looked.
You are NOT as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future;
Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind;
The kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing.
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts,
Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss.
Don’t waste your time on jealousy;
Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind.
The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults;
If you succeed in doing this, tell me how.
Keep your old love letters,
Throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life.
The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives,
Some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium.
Be kind to your knees,
You’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t,
Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t,
Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.
Whatever you do,
Don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself, either.
Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body, use it every way you can.
Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it,
It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.
Dance.
Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines,
They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents,
You never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings;
They are your best link to your past
And the people most likely to stick with you in the future.
Understand that friends come and go,
But for the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography in lifestyle
Because the older you get,
The more you need the people you knew when you were young.
Live in New York City once,
But leave before it makes you hard;
Live in Northern California once,
But leave before it makes you soft.
Travel.
Accept certain inalienable truths,
Prices will rise, politicians will philander,
You too will get old,
And when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable,
Politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund,
Maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse;
But you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair,
Or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.
Be careful whose advice you buy,
But, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia,
Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal,
Wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
Love is blind, true friendship closes its eyes.
I'm only pretty sure
that I can't take anymore,
Before you take a swing, I wonder
What are we fighting for,
When I say out loud,
I want to get out of this,
I wonder. Is there anything I'm going to miss,
How's it going to be,
When you don't know me,
How's it going to be,
When you're sure I'm not there,
How's it going to be,
When there is no one there to talk to about,
How it's going to be,
'Cause I don't care,
How's it going to be,
Where we used to laugh,
There's a shouting match,
Sharp as a thumbnail scratch,
A silence I can't ignore,
Like . .
The hammocks and the doorways we spent time in,
Swing empty,
Don't see lightning like last fall
When it was always about to hit me,
I guess thatÍs how its going to be.
Want to get back in again,
The soft dive of oblivion
Your silence will not protect you.
I think you're already gone.
I think I'm finally scared now
You think I'm weak - But I think you're wrong
I think you're already leaving
Feels like your hand is on the door
I thought this place was an empire
But now I'm relaxed - I can't be sure
I think you're so mean - I think we should try
I think I could need - this in my life
I think I'm just scared - I think too much
I know this is wrong it's a problem I'm dealing
If you're gone - maybe it's time to go home
There's an awful lot of breathing room
But I can hardly move
If you're gone - baby you need to come home
Cuz there's a little bit of something me
In everything in you
I bet you're hard to get over
I bet the room just won't shine
I bet my hands I can stay here
I bet you need - more than you mind
I think you're so mean - I think we should try
I think I could need - this in my life
I think I'm just scared - that I know too much
I can't relate and that's a problem
I'm feeling
If you're gone - maybe it's time to go home
There's an awful lot of breathing room
But I can hardly move
If you're gone - baby you need to come home
cuz there's a little bit of something me
In everything in you
I think you're so mean - I think we should try
I think I could need - this in my life
I think I'm just scared - do I talk too much
I know it's wrong it's a problem I'm dealing
A dream is a wish your heart makes
think i'm going for a walk now
I feel a little unsteady
I don't want noone to follow me
except maybe you
i could make you happy, you know
if you weren't already
i could do a lot of things
and i do
tell you the truth i prefer the worst of you
too bad you had to have a better half
she's not really my type
but i think you two are forever
and i have to admit, you're perfect together
so fuck you
and your untouchable face
fuck you
for existing in the first place
and who am i
that i should be vying for your touch
who am i
bet you can't even tell me that much
2:30 in the morning
my gas tank will be empty soon
neon sign on the horizon
rubbing elbows with the moon
safe haven of the sleepless
where the deep fryer's always on
radio is counting down the top 20 country songs
out on the porch the fly strip is
waving like a flag in the wind
you know i really don't look forward
to seeing you again soon.
you look like a photograph of yourself
taken from far far away
i won't know what to do
i won't know what to say
so fuck you...
see you and i'm so perplexed
what was i thinking
what will i think of next
where can i hide
in the back room there's a lamp
that hangs over the pool table
and the fan that's on it swings
gently side to side
there's a changing constellation
of balls as we are playing
i see orion and say nothing
the only thing i can think of saying
is fuck you...