The Reflective Property

This song and Consumer really helped me to shape my perspective on the world.

The best way to get over your own emotional problems (depression, etc.) is to do something worthwhile for another person.

"Soft memories of a life well lived... I'm thinking back and loving every moment I had." Initially, the singer is admitting how blessed his life has been. Anybody living in the developed world (that gets to eat food every day) can relate.

"This dull feeling is working through me, and every waking moment is more static." This is greed, complacency, boredom, selfishness creeping in.

"As I step onto my porch of reflection, a brief wind of warmth is swept through me." I think this foreshadows the realization he comes to later in the song.

"We succeed in order to bring forth order in our lives." Recognizing the futile cycle that our materialist culture strives with.

"You have all felt it, the emptiness of being alone. Zoloft will not cure it. Human touch will not solve it. This black, cold world is potent." The things that we look to in order to relieve our depression don't work. There isn't a magical soul mate that will fix everything for you.

"Please bless the children. Please heal their cries." Here he recognizes that even though he is in pain emotionally, others have it much worse. He gets over self-centeredness and focuses on others.

"A sweet sound is heard in my waking life. Tremors of anguish ripple through visions and dreams." He obtains relief from his depression (sweet sound) by recognizing the brutal truth of what others are facing (tremors of anguish).

"Cries heal a starving nation facing death and destruction.." This exchange and thought process leads him to make a difference in any way he can. The nation that is starving physically (3rd world) and the nation that starves emotionally (USA and others) are both being healed when selfishness is overcome.

This is just my guess. This song really helped me get over myself a few years ago. It is also one of the main reasons that I started sponsoring some kids through World Vision.

this is a fuck you to emo kids, stop whining and help the world, they are people who have it alot worse than you do

Ha, I love the line "Zoloft will not cure it". He's remembering a time in his life and reflecting back on a time when he became depressed and (I think) found comfort in Jesus. And he's urging us to do the same and spread this comfort to "a starving nation facing death and destruction".

He makes a direct reference to the story in the bible about Jesus sitting in a courtyard listening and giving blessing to the children around him who will speak ot him.

I have never read the bible so im going to interpret this my way. I think he is saying that success does not mean happiness. Futher, if you live thinking that it does you will be miserble. At the begining he is taking the perspective of a dying man, who lead a happy life. Not necessarily a sucessful man, but a happy one none the less.