"'Cause everything looks perfect from far away."
I hadn't listened to this song in a really, really long time. But I did the other day, and that line stuck to at me. "Everything looks perfect from far away."
Faces.
In "Gulliver's Travels," Gulliver visits the island of Lilliput, a place filled with people one-twelfth the height of a human. The Lilliputians look beautiful to Gulliver, but it's because he's so big and far away. They're actually hideous.
Relationships.
From here: He's hott; she's gorgeous; they hold hands; they smile; they work things out.
From up close: He's vain; she's insecure; they're clingy; they're forcing it; they're passive-aggressive.
The world.
You really can't see the truth from far away. Some things that are terrible from a distance make sense up close. Some things that look perfect from far away are atrocities up close. You just can't tell.
So you have to make a choice.
You can live your life at a distance, believing that everything is wonderful, and live in fear of being disillusioned.
Or you can get up close, running the risk of disappointment, and live with the knowledge that you're nobody's fool.
It's your choice.
~Stephanie
I chose up close :)
ReplyDeleteI chose understanding over ignorance. How else can we fix a problem if we don't know it's there?
ReplyDeleteI think I would prefer to know the truth, but there is the saying "What you don't know can't hurt you." Not really sure if I believe it though. I would have to go with being close.
ReplyDeleteThis is a WONDERFUL song! It's sad... but the Postal Service version is very upbeat. Actually, the first time I heard Such Great Heights was on an Iron and Wine album. Their more acoustic version is also great. I'm currently working on an arrangement of the song for ukulele! Might add some piano in there too :) Love your posts!
ReplyDelete