This is My Fight Song

It’s easy to fall into negativity these days. The pandemic rages on, travel is restricted between countries, between cities and  between people. The weather is pretty bad, in many parts of the world. People are living and working in close proximity and all relationships are under a stress test.

Whenever I feel down and out in these difficult times, I listen to The Fight Song by Rachel Platten and it lifts my mood  instantaneously. Won’t you join me in a magical journey through the words of this beautiful song? Trust me, it will conquer all your negativity.

Let us now begin, one verse at a time.

‘Like a small boat in the ocean

Sending big waves into motion

Like how a single word can make a heart open

I might have only one match but I can make an explosion”

Sometimes, I wonder if my own existence has any value. What difference can one person make? I found the perfect answer in the very first line of this song. We are like small boats floating on the surface of this ocean called the world. Every little thing that we do sends a ripple that travels across the universe. Sometimes, the ripple can amplify into bigger and bigger waves that do make a difference.

If we sit still and do nothing, the ocean will not even notice our existence. Hence, please, please, rock your little boat and send out whatever ripples that you can. Who knows? Any ripple can become a tsunami, changing everything in its path?

All it takes is one word to bring about a transformation. That word could be love. Just saying it to someone special can start a relationship. Even married people don’t use this word often enough, and this leads to a hardening of the heart and, of the arteries.

The one word could also be a mantra. Kabir attained enlightenment using the word Rama, given by his spiritual master. Om is another magic word that shows up in different forms in different cultures. For the Christians, it is Amen, for the Muslims it is Amin. Books have been written about the power of Om.

Most important of all, it shows up in the name of Om Swami ji. This, alone, is enough to break open so many hearts.

All of us have one match, or, rather, one life. The flame of this life can ignite the Kundalini Shakti, creating an explosion within our very being. It’s up to us whether we light this match, or not. A single match can indeed create an explosion just like a small boat can rock the entire ocean.

‘And all those things I didn’t say, wrecking balls inside my head

I will scream them loud tonight; can you hear my voice this time?’

As Om Swami ji would say, we have a million thoughts inside our head. Most of these thoughts are powerless because we don’t do any thing with them. There are so many things left unsaid, working like wrecking balls inside our head. The imagery is very powerful, here. We suppress our emotions and thoughts, they don’t find any outlet and they keep pounding against our head. I am sure many of us have experienced this in our life, especially women, who have been suppressed in our culture since time immemorial.

The singer says she will not take this anymore, she will take charge of her life and this become even clearer in the next few lines. She sends out a cry for help to anyone who can hear her words, including of course, the Supreme Power. She sends out a very powerful prayer: Can you hear my words this time?

‘This is my fight song; take back my life song

Prove I’m all right song’

Like the small boat on its voyage, we can either succumb to the ocean, the circumstances around us, or take charge of our lives. This is where the fight begins. The singer decides to fight, and this becomes her fight song. It’s a way of taking control of her life again, she is not defeated by life, she is still alive and she is doing all right.

‘My power’s turned on; starting now I’ll be strong

I’ll play my fight song

And I don’t really care if nobody else believes

Cause I’ve still got a lot of fight left in me”

As soon as we decide to fight, we get a rush of energy and loose  our negativity. Suddenly, our power is turned on, it’s like a Kundalini awakening. From this moment on, let us all decide to fight, and not run away from life. Isn’t this the most positive thing you have ever heard?

The world is generally uncaring, and no body else may believe in us. It doesn’t matter as long as we believe in ourselves. As long as we are alive, we have a lot of fight left in us. Even in old age, we have to keep fighting diseases. The moment we stop fighting, the disease takes over.

‘Losing friends and I’m chasing sleep

Everybody’s worried about me; Say I’m in too deep

And it’s been two years and I miss my home

But there is a fire burning in my bones

I still believe.

This is my fight song”

Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by my circumstances. I live in Canada and there are times when I feel like a stranger in a strange land; many  immigrants go though this phase . This song is right on the button, for me. It’s been over two years since I visited India, thanks to a pandemic that doesn’t stop. No matter how many years I live abroad, at the deepest level, the country of my birth will be my spiritual home. As Om Swami ji has said in one of his books:

‘The soul wants to go back to the source.”

The Fight Song expresses this feeling for me almost as though it is reading my mind. Maybe, it does the same for many others. However, there is no need to despair as there is always a fire burning in our bones. This is the fire of life, and as long as we are alive, we can keep on singing The Fight Song.

My friends, is there anything more uplifting than The Fight Song?

Anytime you are down, dejected or depressed in life, just remember the words of The Fight Song and you are ready to overcome anything that life throws at you.