Saturday, May 12, 2012

Guardian

Sometimes, not often, but sometimes songs reach me at the exact moment in which I need them.  Wednesday I was online and I learned that Alanis Morissette is scheduled to release her newest album, Havoc and Bright Lights, this fall.  The first single from the album is "Guardian."  I have listened to this song several times and it reaches out and grabs me at this precise moment on multiple levels.

Being a mother is the toughest and yet most rewarding responsibility a woman can face.  This small face looks to you for everything, every need, love, guidance, etc.  I believe that our maternal instincts reach beyond our own children.  Whether these instincts touch the children of our nonnuclear families, children we meet in passing, or those we never encounter, our need, desire, craving to protect them is held sacred in the core of our humanity.

As I listened to "Guardian" my mind wandered to thoughts of children I will never meet, children whose lives are traumatically lived and exposed to the most disgusting atrocities.  These are the children that I pray will be helped by our efforts through Stop Child Trafficking Now (SCTNow www.SCTNow.org).

Music reaches people on different levels, and songs have different meanings, perceptions to every single person who lets the words soak into their heart.  For me, "Guardian" speaks to me as a story of someone who has been through hell and back, the people who weren't there for them, and the people who made the brave decision to stand up for them and offer comfort as their guardian.  The chorus especially speaks to me and encourages me on a level I never anticipated.

I feel compelled to do more for victims of sex trafficking in conjunction with fighting the demand by volunteering with SCTNow. To be there for these people who have been broken by those who couldn't care less.  To be uplifting.  To think beyond what people tell me I am capable of doing. To be present and active in changing lives one step at a time.  To be a guardian.

xoxo,
Kelli



GUARDIAN
By: Alanis Morissette

You, you who has smiled when you’re in pain 
You who has soldiered through the profane 
They were distracted and shut down 

So why, why would you talk to me at all 
such words were dishonorable and in vain 
their promise as solid as a fog 

and where was your watchman then 

I’ll be your keeper for life as your guardian 
I’ll be your warrior of care your first warden 
I’ll be your angel on call, I’ll be on demand 
The greatest honor of all, as your guardian 

you, you in the chaos feigning sane 
You who has pushed beyond what’s humane 
Them as the ghostly tumbleweed 

And where was your watchman then 

I’ll be your keeper for life as your guardian 
I’ll be your warrior of care your first warden 
I’ll be your angel on call, I’ll be on demand 
The greatest honor of all, as your guardian 

now no more smiling mid crestfall 
No more managing unmanageables 
No more holding still in the hailstorm 

Now enter your watchwoman 

I’ll be your keeper for life as your guardian 
I’ll be your warrior of care your first warden 
I’ll be your angel on call, I’ll be on demand 
The greatest honor of all, as your guardian