I pulled this card out of a deck of journalling prompts that I keep at my desk. Sometimes I journal from them. Sometimes they become a prompt for a photo. Sometimes they become the photo. And sometimes they trigger some memory, or some song title.
Like this one did.
There is a song by Canadian singer and songwriter Amanda Marshall that I have always loved.
It reminds us that we all put on masks to hide behind, and that we should remember that we often assume that what others portray not he surface is a far cry from what they are battling beneath that mask. And that we could all be a little kinder by checking our assumptions and being more compassionate….both with others and with ourselves. And we should also remember that the opinions of others do not define us.
Everybody’s got a story
You walk up to me and say ‘Feel like I know ya, baby’
And then take a sip of your cherry coke
Now, now who drinks a cherry coke
Maybe your nervous
I see that bead of sweat dancing on your cheek
Your words are like cheap champagne (cheap champagne)
I get the point but its much too sweet
I’m so tired of the dance
This carousel of superficial conversation gets me nowhere
So you can see my bra, underneath my shirt
Watch the wind, underneath my skirt
But that ain’t the picture it’s just a part
Everybody’s got a story that could break your heart
See my eyes, don’t see what I see
Touch my tongue, don’t know what tastes good to me
Its the human condition that keeps us apart
Everybody’s got a story that could break your heart
Yeah everybody’s got a story that could break your heart
Now who can read the mind of the redheaded girl next door
Or the taxi driver who just dropped you off
Or the, or the classmate that you ignore
Don’t assume everything on the surface is what you see
Cause that classmate just lost her mother
And that taxi driver’s got a PhD
I‘m so tired of the fear
That weighs us down with wrong assumptions
A broken heart’s a natural function
So you can see my bra, underneath my shirt
Watch the wind, underneath my skirt
But that ain’t the picture it’s just a part
Everybody’s got a story that could break your heart
See my eyes, don’t see what I see
Touch my tongue, don’t know what tastes good to me
Its the human condition that keeps us apart
Everybody’s got a story that could break your heart
See my bra, underneath my shirt
Watch the wind, underneath my skirt
But that ain’t the picture it’s just a part
Everybody’s got a story that could break your heart
So dig deep (dig deep)
Deeper than the image that you see (dig deep)
Lift the film and let your true self breath(dig deep)
Show the world the beauty underneath
See my bra, underneath my shirt
Watch the wind, underneath my skirt
But that ain’t the picture it’s just a part
Everybody’s got a story that could break your heart
See my eyes, don’t see what I see
Touch my tongue, don’t know what tastes good to me
Its the human condition that keeps us apart
Everybody’s got a story that could break your heart
(That could break your heart baby)
(Everybody’s got a story)
~Amanda Marshall