I recently re-discovered the song Breathe by Pink Floyd on the album The Dark Side of the Moon. As a teenager, I practically knew the record by heart. That is, I knew the lyrics but didn’t think about what they might mean. On the website song meanings, I found an interesting range of comments on the possible interpretations…
Today, being interested in breathing, the line that strikes me is “Don’t be afraid to care”. When I’m afraid, I can immediately notice it in my breathing and my breathing, in turn, reacts to me being afraid. And thinking about the moments when I’m afraid, more often than not, it is about caring. “To care” originally meant “to lament”, “to experience sorrow” and “to grieve”. It is related to “calling” and “crying out”. So far I haven’t gotten through life without calling out and not being answered, or without being bereft. That’s made its mark on the way I breathe. So, listening to Pink Floyd’s Breathe today, I asked myself what might help me to not be afraid to care? The only thing I could come up with was “solace”: that special mix of comfort and pleasure. I used to think that being comforted or enjoying myself was a fine thing but lately I’ve found it to be necessary. Without the effects of solace, the breath simply can’t flow. How does one recognize solace, what brings it on? I think it’s about finding that out and cultivating it: solace for the body and soul to open up to communication, exchange and the invitation of breathing.
“Breathe, breathe in the air.
Don’t be afraid to care.
Leave but don’t leave me.
Look around and choose your own ground.
Long you live and high you fly
And smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry
And all you touch and all you see
Is all your life will ever be.
Run, rabbit run.
Dig that hole, forget the sun,
And when at last the work is done
Don’t sit down it’s time to dig another one.
For long you live and high you fly
But only if you ride the tide
And balanced on the biggest wave
You race towards an early grave.”
Lyrics: Waters, Gilmour, Wright