Story: The Thing That Was Happening
Verse 1
I asked if I should keep on
I asked if I should stop
I asked if I was climbing
or falling from the top
I asked if this was progress
I asked if I had failed
I asked if I was steering
or just dragging on the rail
Then the rain kept falling
and the fire gave a spark
and the body kept on breathing
in the ordinary dark
the question kept on asking
the mind kept making plans
but life was already moving
without waiting for my hands
Chorus
There is no outside
no place to stand apart
no little room behind the world
where I can steer the heart
there is no outside
no judge above the rain
just life appearing as the joy
and life appearing as the pain
Whatever is happening
is what is happening now
the mind may tell a story
but it doesn’t tell us how
there is no outside
no one holding reins
only rain and firelight
only life remains
Verse 2
The thought said, “You should give up”
the thought said, “No, press on”
the thought said, “You are nearly there”
the thought said, “You are wrong”
the body held its tiredness
the chest became a fist
then another thought came softly
saying, “None of this is it”
But even that was weather
even that was passing through
even the one who wanted peace
was something life would do
the ache was not a verdict
the fear was not a crime
and the story of escaping
was made of passing time
Chorus
There is no outside
no place to stand apart
no little room behind the world
where I can steer the heart
there is no outside
no judge above the rain
just life appearing as the laughter
and life appearing as the strain
Whatever is happening
is what is happening now
the mind may tell a story
but it doesn’t tell us how
there is no outside
no one holding reins
only rain and firelight
only life remains
Bridge
This is not surrender
as something I must do
this is not a doctrine
I have to prove is true
this is not permission
to turn away from care
this is just the seeing
that life is already there
Apology may happen
a boundary may be drawn
a body may need resting
before another dawn
anger may come burning
grief may split the sky
but none of it is outside
the life it moves within
Verse 3
I walked home in the rainfall
with water in my shoes
and cursed the passing driver
for the puddle he let loose
then laughter came behind it
like a bird across the wire
even the old irritation
was not outside the fire
The streetlight held the raindrops
the night was cold and wide
and the one who tried to manage
had nowhere left to hide
not gone and not defeated
not holy, not improved
just seen as one more ripple
in the way the whole thing moved
Final Chorus
There is no outside
no place to stand apart
no little room behind the world
where I can steer the heart
there is no outside
no judge above the rain
just life appearing as the question
and life answering the same
Whatever is happening
is what is happening now
the mind may tell a story
but it doesn’t tell us how
there is no outside
no one holding reins
only rain and firelight
only life remains
Outro
Rain falls
fire glows
thought comes
breath knows
Trying happens
resting too
life appears
as me, as you
No outside
no separate claim
only this
without a name
