Dear Marc Knopfler, I Love All Your Verses, but Could I Add a Few Things?
Why worry?
There should be laughter after pain.
There should be sunshine after rain.
Some song lyrics have perfect timing. Songwriters sometimes have such a talent that they wait for the perfect moment to touch your heart, and we are so happy to welcome them in. We open ourselves and let the words enter, and they remain with us for the rest of our lives. During moments of despair, we just look around within ourselves and find them there. We take them out from where they have been hiding, blow away the dust, and they start to shine as bright as the day we first heard them.
The words above are from “Why Worry?” by Mark Knopfler.
Although they seem very naive, they encompass the deep essence of everything, the continuity of life. They remind us of the never-ending cycle. Yes, it’s endless but not vicious. As one thing diminishes, its opposite appears in its place. Nothing lasts forever. Days follow nights, sunshine follows the rain, and the pain softens to make way for laughter. This is the simple way things happen, as simple as those few words above.
In times of despair, they hold great hope if you can remember that the heaviness of life is never continuous, and there will be some relief at some point. It may seem like a fairy tale approach to many, but that is not the case if you admit that the opposite is also necessary. In other words, clouds need to reappear after the sunshine. You cannot take one thing and decline the other, because they come as a package. C’est la vie.
I came across this song recently when I was feeling very down. I had a teenage crush on Mark Knopfler, and if it hadn’t been for him singing it, it would have never woken me from my somber delusion that life was being cruel. I would just shut my ears, my feelings, my understanding, and everything else to all the pollyannas of this world. It’s different with some people, though, and you are always open to them, whatever might be happening around you. Mark Knopfler is one of these people for me. He can touch my heart and rekindle its hope more than any other thing. As we all know, when you switch to a more optimistic mode, life starts to glide more smoothly. This was just what happened then as well. All the world, all the stars, and all the planets gathered at my side and whispered to me, “You are safe, Elif. Everything will be alright.”
What I am more happy about, however, is that now I know what is more important than that feeling of relief, that feeling of always hoping for the best outcome. The most important point is to have a stable approach toward everything that happens around us, so it doesn’t lead to those dramatic ups and downs. I have to admit that it’s easier said than done, though, but having this feeling at heart constantly and wishing for it helps a lot. Life can be harsh sometimes and very generous at other points. Either way, if we are able to endure everything calmly—without needing to exaggerate whatever we are doing, experiencing, or dreaming—then it means we are balanced within ourselves. We can be sad or angry at some crossroads in life, and that is entirely normal, but the problems arise when we become tangled within these feelings. We then become the feeling itself, so being able to detach ourselves from those feelings and observe them from the outside helps a lot.
Understanding that life is as it is with all its dualities, whether we like it or not, calms our thoughts, our feelings, and our whole being, so it becomes much easier to proceed with our intentions. A smooth pathway appears clearly before our eyes, and we can clear any bushes that block our way at unexpected moments. Understanding that life is as it is, with all its good and evil things, helps us to use our energy in pursuit of our dreams…
Whether laughter or pain, rain or shine…
Song Lyrics: “Why Worry?” by Mark Knopfler, Dire Straits.
