Just an earthbound misfit, I

"Learning to Fly" Pink Floyd"(video link that hopefully works)

"Learning to Fly" was the song playing on the radio when I knew I was getting a tattoo. I was driving over O'Neal bridge and just knew. And the following weekend, I did get one. I wasn't even entirely sure what I was getting when I walked into the tattoo parlor. But a decision was made, the ink was put on, and unlike some people I have known, I have never regretted it. It's simple, and could really use some retouching, but I still like it. For those that don't know, it's the Libra scales. Yes, I'm a Libra. No, I am not a lawyer. And yes, I've been asked both. 

But for me, it's not just a zodiac sign. It represents the balance I need in life. Work and play. Family and friends. Time alone and time spent socializing. Exuberance and despair. We need a little of everything, but not too much of anything. I can tell when I have overindulged in one aspect of my life. I feel off. I feel the need to swing the scales back the opposite direction. 

It's also a reminder of that particular time in my life. That feeling of elation when all the pieces fall into place and you are brimming with absolute certainty. It doesn't have to be a song on the radio, although for me, music is most often my muse. Inspiration can arrive in any fashion. It's that moment of clarity, vision, peace, euphoria, an epiphany, or as Pink Floyd eloquently wrote, There's no sensation to compare with this, suspended animation, a state of bliss. It was one of those nights. I was 21, in college, having the time of my life with no clue where I would be 15 years later. As it turns out, I'm living back in my hometown and most currently, writing a blog about it, with no regrets, still learning to fly.

"Learning to Fly"

Into the distance, a ribbon of black
Stretched to the point of no turning back
A flight of fancy on a windswept field
Standing alone my senses reeled
A fatal attraction is holding me fast,
How can I escape this irresistible grasp?

Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted, just an earth-bound misfit, I

Ice is forming on the tips of my wings
Unheeded warnings, I thought, I thought of everything
No navigator to find my way home
Unladened, empty and turned to stone
A soul in tension -- that's learning to fly
Condition grounded but determined to try

Can't keep my eyes from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I

Above the planet on a wing and a prayer,
My grubby halo, a vapour trail in the empty air,
Across the clouds I see my shadow fly
Out of the corner of my watering eye
A dream unthreatened by the morning light
Could blow this soul right through the roof of the night

There's no sensation to compare with this
Suspended animation, a state of bliss

Can't keep my mind from the circling skies
Tongue-tied and twisted just an earth-bound misfit, I