Small Consolations…with a Twist

I have always considered my communication skills to be above average, delivering extensive monologues on the critical difference between the words “a” and “the”. They are NOT interchangeable. Despite my love for words and their proper use, I must admit that simply using the words accurately is not the only skill needed to communicate one’s feelings. In the same way that two speakers with different native tongues must learn to understand each other, even those of us who share the same verbal language still must work to understand each other and the subtle nuances of communication that each individual possesses.

For a long time, I struggled to understand why saying “I love you” was not always enough to express the way I felt to some of the people in my life. It seemed as if I was pleading with a brick wall, saying it with more sincerity and passion, but the reception was lacking. As I was lying in bed, drifting to sleep one night, my mind was filled with thoughts of people who are unable to communicate in traditional ways. What if I had been born without the ability to speak? How would I express myself? I began to ponder early man and his ability to convey his feelings. No doubt he had the same hopes, fears, and questions that we have today and he likely felt the same frustrations that we do when our words are not understood. Yet, he was able to learn a means of communication. I realized in that moment that I had been overlooking expressions of love, perhaps all my life. What I thought I needed was the words, someone to shout from the rooftops their devotion, but even if I had that from someone whose primary language was actions, would it really mean anything? Wouldn’t it mean so much more if love were conveyed in another person’s native language, be it making time for me when they really don’t have the time to spare, giving counsel on a worrisome issue, or showing their appreciation for the little things I do. 

It often is the case that the things on my mind turn into songs, sometimes on purpose and sometimes synchronistically as was the case for the most recent song, “Small Consolations”. Around the same time that I was having my own epiphanies about appreciating the little things, Ted suggested the song title. The idea was to put a positive spin on the term small consolations. How many times do we overlook the tiny details of life, instead choosing to be disappointed when we don’t have the big things? When we get to the end, the end of a relationship, a friendship, or a life, isn’t it the small moments that are brought to mind that we cherish and miss? Why then don’t we treasure those small consolations as they come?…

You know what you know but it’s hard to explain

The feeling you feel when you’re feeling this way

You want to go back you want a second chance

To return to the love that lives in the past

And you get what you get what you get you deserve

But what would you give if you could be back with her

And hold her and touch the edge of her dreams 

And see through her eyes all the love that could be

Small consolations

Like knowing how easy something precious is lost

Small consolations

Like knowing somebody loved you at all

You do what you do you do the best that you can

You don’t let a good love slip through your hands

You have to know when something good comes along

And make the most of the moment before the moment is gone