Down in Flames

I'm sure all of us have encountered that old (or maybe not old) man or woman that is swimming in their own misery. If you work in customer service you probably have known a handful. The wrinkly man that growls, "What are you smiling about?" when he approaches the counter. The woman that ignores you when you ask her how her day is. I go through cycles of pitying and wanting to strangle these people. And it all depends on my awareness of the hurt they probably have endured for longer than I can imagine. I've been listening to my Mindy Smith album this morning and this song makes me think about those calloused hearts walking around and what I might hear if I could listen to their thoughts:



I don't usually take chances
Most would easily agree
Something in your eyes
Is saying you can ease my heartache
I have a burden in sight
And I know you're just a stranger
If you cannot understand
There's too many times
I've lost my chance to talk with an angel
Too many to count
And life's so hard
It's the little things that seem to be getting me today, yeah
Life's so hard
But I'm doing what I can to not to be getting down
I'm going down in flames
Going down in flamesI would tell you I am happy
If I wasn't so damn sad
And the loneliness both overwhelms and keeps me empty
That's how it's been for a while
And life's so hard
It's the little things that seem to be getting me today, yeah
Life's so hard
But I'm doing what I can to not to be getting down
I'm going down in flames
Going down in flames
I need some direction
I need someone to listen
Someone to tell me that they know
That life's so hard
It's the little things that seem to be saving me today, yeah
Life's so hard
And I'm doing what I can
Oh, yeah, I'm doing what I can
Hey, I'm doing what I can
Going down in flames
Going down in flames