[MUD – MICHELE NEGRINI]
This thing had been gnawing at me for a while now that there is a Christmas atmosphere around me, in contrast to the images of children and people coming from Aleppo and the war zones. For the poverty that we have near us, we can also do something to help, we see them, we can try to be close to them. But the war is further away (or not so much?) And the sense of powerlessness is very great!
It may be due to this bad mood but at one point, last Saturday, I remembered a song that summed up this mood well. A song that I really like. And at the same time, I asked myself: “but who am I to be able to say even one A about such a big thing? who I think I am ?!”.
The answer I gave myself is that I am nobody. I’m just a man. As only men, women, and children are the ones who experience war. It is perhaps the only thing we have in common. And sometimes I am also a little ashamed (but that’s another story). I told myself that just because I’m nobody and I can’t do anything but write songs, that maybe my role is just to write songs. Songs don’t change the world. We change the world if we all use our energies and our lives, small or large, to build peace.
I decided to publish it. It was a run of a few days. And in this madness, I asked some people that I thought they could share this mood if they wanted to write a message on a sheet and make a little video that I would then use as a video clip of the song.
And here came the best surprise! People came to me with a big heart: who sent me the video, who involved their neighbors, who took this opportunity to talk about it with their children. I received some videos with beautiful messages and probably if there had been more time more would have arrived, but what matters is that once again the humanity of the people has come out.
As if he were waiting for an opportunity to emerge. Someone also told me that he didn’t feel like writing anything in front of something so big and complex and I was pleased to hear the different sensibilities anyway. Someone even thanked me, when I think I should thank everyone and everything. Of a world that never ceases to amaze us. Of humanity that cannot wait to feel useful for peace. And of us men who too often do not miss an opportunity, instead, to bring out the worst. Perhaps because it’s simpler.
Showing love is like stripping yourself in front of others. Defenses are lost. We put ourselves in the hands of others. And that makes us lose control. It’s difficult.
It is nice to think that each of us can build opportunities that allow the love of others to emerge. And it’s not good practice. It is the meaning of life. Thank you very much!