The lead singer of the British band sounds a little like James Blunt. But don’t let that dissuade you from listening to these guys. Passenger has a musical and lyrical depth that Blunt’s sappy “Beautiful” decidedly lacks.
Check out these opening lines from the song “Needle in the Dark:”
With progress comes problems
With wisdom comes age
With lessons come learning
With pleasure comes pain
You can only have the sunshine after the rain
“Needle in the Dark” is an eerie, beautiful reminder that if we want to do something meaningful with our lives, getting there is going to require risk. It’s not going to be easy. In fact, “it’s like trying to find a needle in the dark.”
I like this as a metaphor for finding meaning in life. (I know, cue the cheesy music. Stay with me for a minute).
Take academics. I worked my butt off in high school to get to college. Guess what? I’m here. And I’m not sure where I’m going now.
I wonder if the reason I’m lacking motivation in a few areas of my life could be attributed at least in part to the lack of a needle in the dark to go hunting for. I haven’t given myself any kind of challenge to pursue.
Some goal setting is definitely in order. I want to study abroad in Spain. I’d like to at least have the option of going to grad school.
But somehow, I feel like I need something more difficult to strive for. Something a little scary and maybe even a little painful.
It’s true, you know, that a challenging process gives you more appreciation for the end product.
So, I’ll ask you the question I’ve been asking myself: what’s your needle in the dark? And what are you going to do to start searching for it?
