2010年 12月 22日 水曜日 00:49

Ayreon - Day Ten: Memories (Lyrics)
"What's holding you back?"

At Me's bedside, Best Friend shares his frustration and bewilderment of Me's situation. He reveals that although Me is physically fine, ten days is far too long for Me to be in this state. Wife correctly points out that it's not his body that is keeping Me in the coma, it's his mind. She suggests that they talk to him some more to help remind Me they're still waiting for him on the outside.

The two of them recall their fond memories of their time with Me. Best Friend recalls their adventurous childhood, the two of them riding bikes and climbing giant towers. Meanwhile, Wife thinks back to their relationship, their first intimate moment and his tragically humorous proposal. Their voices once again pierce though Me's mind where he can hear them loud and clear. To help reinforce the importance of Me's loved ones, Pride and Love join in unison with Best Friend and Wife respectively, allowing Me to recall those treasured memories that have become hazy over time.

Passion, having heard the reminiscing, appears to Me. She is more sympathetic now and can sense Wife's positive energy shining down on him. Even though it's strong, it's still not enough to help Me break free, and ponders what is holding him back. She isn't the only one though, Reason is just as mystified. He can tell how important Wife is to Me, so he encourages Me to continue searching, to open up his mind and recall more of his memories.

Pride's words back on Day Five have really been sticking with me. "Look to the future, but learn from the past." It's no coincidence that our brains have the capacity to create memories. Being able to look back and recall previous events is vital to our survival. Whether that be learning not to put your hand on a hot stove or learning to stop sabotaging yourself. It's our choices and our actions that define who we are, but it's our memories that help guide us in making those decisions.

The lyric "What's holding you back?" was something I was pondering all day. The short answer to that, is the past. The long answer to that is, the past. I feel like I've been holding onto the past too tightly, trying so hard to avoid those feelings that I'm making it more difficult on myself to live in the present and look to the future. I do believe it's about time I just let go and set myself free. It's something that I've known for quite a while, it's always just sitting in the back of my head. But knowing what you need to do and understanding what you need to do are not always one in the same.

I know in the album, Me still has some difficult trials ahead of him and he still has many difficult memories to confront. This in turn will give me some heavy stuff to think about it. I'm feeling good about it though, it's starting to all fall into place in my head. These are things I can't keep running away from, nor can I keep trying to bury them and forget them. As Pride put it, I need to "confront the danger, face up to my rival." These things that I've been reluctant to confront, I must now face head on. These memories are key to shaping who I am, and it's up to me to use them to better myself.

Previous Posts:
Day Nine: Playground
Day Eight: School
Day Seven: Hope
Day Six: Childhood
Day Five: Voices
Day Four: Mystery
Day Three: Pain
Day Two: Isolation
Day One: Vigil
The Human Equation: A 20 Day Experiment