Clear As Daylight
Information:
- Source: The Emperor’s New Clothes Notebook
- Key: D Major
- Measures: 44
- Parts: Piano
- Duration: 3:10
- Pages: 3 Pages
There are no mysteries, one day, we are the windshield. The next, we are the bug. Or the other way around.
Hello,
Who can tell?. It’s not likely that the answers to the most critical questions in life are, magically at our disposal; advising us what to do at every turn and moment in life. Yet, for the lack of better answers, we’ve fabricated horrible stories, with the exclusively intent to feel ample about ourselves, creatively avoiding, at the same time, taking the responsibility to see life for what it is.
We all know it is much easier, and definitely more fun, to blame others for our shortcomings, perhaps, because it is difficult explaining to ourselves. Let’s be fair, often, we lack the knowledge to understand the world. We are afraid of the unknown. Events without apparent explanation are unsettling to our minds, thus, for comfort, we tried the imaginable: We lied to ourselves with ridiculous scenarios of affirmative phrases.
Fortune favors the bold, isn’t that what they say? The phrase is taken from a Latin proverb. There is nothing to interpret; the sentence is complete and self explanatory. However, it seems, very important information is missing in that statement. Yes, they left out Fortune’s ability to not be concern, with the needs of humanity.
Fortune is unpredictable, like a capricious French whore unwilling to keep the negotiated price. Therefore, regardless of how brave or well prepare we are in life, at the end of the day, there’s only empty promises. Fortune or Luck, good or bad, does not care a bit about you.
Good or bad luck as a force, does not exist. The science of statistics is as close as we would ever be at explaining fortune. It consists in an organize, logical collection of data, it is then analyze, once understood, the results are presented.
Statistics and probability are, no more than a group of elegant mathematical equations and charts, which experts used to predict, life changing events in the most accurate manner. Statistics are useful in a variety of disciplines:
Meteorology
Urban Planning
Politics
Social Sciences
Psychology
Medicine
Business
Despite the obvious, I have seen people doing discreet rituals of good luck when gambling at a casino, hoping to get lucky, and some do win big time. However, most of us, cannot reason, for example: The owners of the Casino do not rely on silly rituals to be on business, they are ahead of the game by knowing the beauty of statistics.
On the other hand, there are, just as well, a number of videos on YouTube of people praying earnestly to their gods, asking for their favorite Politician to win an election, disregarding the fact, that Politics, have to do with planning a strategy, targeting their demographics, analyzing statistics and, in some cases, a good dose of corruption.
The author Sheri S. Tepper writes:
Mankind accepts good fortune as his due, but when bad occurs, he thinks it was aimed at him, done to him, a hex, a curse, a punishment by his deity for some transgression, as though his god were a petty storekeeper, counting up the day’s receipts.
In the 11th and 12th Century, the Goliards wrote, in a satirical way, a series of poems, addressing among other things, the misfortunes of the world. It has, after all this centuries, remained relevant, for, these are the same concerns we are plagued by in 2024.
The Goliards may not have known the science of probability the same way we do; however, after reading the following poem, I am sure, they intently observed the world and came to the following conclusion:
Fortune plango vulnera
Fortune plango vulnera
stillantibus ocellis
quod sua michi munera
subtrahit rebellis.
Verum est, quod legitur,
fronte capillata,
sed plerumque sequitur
Occasio calvata.
In Fortune solio
sederam elatus,
prosperitatis vario
flore coronatus;
quicquid enim florui
felix et beatus,
nunc a summo corrui
gloria privatus.
Fortune rota volvitur:
descendo minoratus;
alter in altum tollitur;
nimis exaltatus
rex sedet in vertice
caveat ruinam!
nam sub axe legimus
Hecubam reginam.
I wrote “Clear as Daylight” to address the random dealings of life, and not to fill with dismay when things don’t go as plan. But also, to remind the listener to not get too comfortable when good fortune knocks at the door, situations can spin in directions we do not see coming.
Life, similar to music, can be fast and then suddenly becomes slow. At times, our lives are full of happy moments, only to stop on our tracks when facing an unexpected tragedy, turning all things around us pessimistic, depicted in music as Vivace and Grave, respectively. Forte and Piano are an acceptable balance and a nice contrast in music, as well as it is in life.
Written in the key of F minor. I remain optimistic that when you listen to the piece, it will invite you to be aware of every sound and movement around you, embracing, the experimental nature of life. Indeed, it is clear as daylight to me that, some days we are the windshield, and the next we are the bug.
Written by Javier Anaya