The Ascetic
Mountaintop Reflections: Embracing Life's Doubts with The Ascetic
Lyrics
Every day I go up on the mountain
Embarking on a daily journey to the mountain
Climb to the top but I don't know what for
Uncertainty about the purpose of reaching the mountain's summit
It's quiet until I hear a voice up on the mountain
Solitude interrupted by a mysterious voice on the mountain
Beware of what you want
Warning to be cautious about desires as they may intensify
It might want you more
The potential for desires to possess the individual
Ashes my burned hut
Description of a burnt hut, symbolizing destruction
But beautiful like cherry
Despite destruction, beauty is found, likened to cherry blossoms
Blooming on the hill
Cherry blossoms blooming on a hill, a contrasting image
One of my patients just before he died
Reflecting on a patient's calmness before death
And just before I left the hospital and began to travel
Transition from hospital work to a journey
If he could face death so calmly
Comparison to the patient's acceptance of death
How could I face life with so much doubt
Expressing personal doubt and uncertainty in life
Now I can sit on the side of a mountain
Observing the landscape from a mountain's side
And watch the shadows slowly filling the valley floor
Shadows filling the valley, symbolizing passing time
But not without the doubts that still linger
Struggling with lingering doubts despite the serene scene
And constantly caress the edges of my shadowy interior
Doubts persistently affecting the inner self
At least a catheter expels impurities in a manner of model efficiency
Reflection on medical efficiency in eliminating impurities
And my previous profession always at least offered that
Recollection of a previous profession and its offerings
Flawless vasectomies in clean and well lit places
Reference to flawless vasectomies in a controlled environment
A sterile field sealed from infection but not from disease
The contrast between sterility and vulnerability to disease
I often wonder if I left anyone behind
Contemplating if anyone was left behind in the past
But somehow I just can't remember
Memory lapse regarding individuals left behind
Only an oddly defined drive to find a better way
A vague drive to seek a better way of living
But somehow I don't believe this is it
Doubt regarding the current path as the better way
As I watch the shadows slowly creeping closer
Watching shadows approaching, symbolizing the inevitable
I think about India and the Hindu concept of Maya
Reflection on India and the concept of Maya (illusion)
It took me so long to understand
Realization and understanding of the space between reality and perception
The space between reality and perception
Living in the ambiguous space between reality and perception
And now it seems that I live there
An acknowledgment of residing in the realm of uncertainty
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