#46 Darkness on the Edge of Town by Bruce Springsteen

The darkness lives inside all of us. Only some, though, live their lives inside of the dark walls that surround them from within. Sometimes the pain of living is just too unbearable for fragile hearts. The secrets of their life tucked down deep inside of them do not ever sleep. They thrash around in the daylight and haunt them in the night.

Some would have these struggling souls believe that they have erred in allowing their demons to control their life. They would tell them that it is what they think about and dwell on that makes their life difficult – they just need to live in the sunshine – think positive – think yourself into denial and life can be good. Reach for some external source of fulfillment and you can be happy.

When your relationship with the darkness is as old as you are, you know the pain living there can bring. Once you’ve lived there, it’s nearly impossible to live anywhere, anyway else. You can’t. You don’t want to. There are certain realizations about life that can only be found by wrestling with the darkness. The struggle itself is what feeds and fulfills you. The anguish, the tears, the confusion all must be faced. The lonely road must be taken. You must feed it and beat it until it loosens a little of its grip, a little of its hold on you. Then you must go after it again and again.

The darkness will tear you up and spit you out. But it will spit you out, out on the line where “dreams are found and lost”, where you will either let it take away from all you have left or where you will find new meaning and understanding in your life’s journey. Take from it – use it. The changes it brings could not have been found on any other pathway. You will look back and know you went where you had to go to get where you are.

Then some day the darkness will call again…and to it you will knowingly return.

For Complete Lyrics Visit: http://www.brucespringsteen.net/songs/DarknessOnTheEdgeOfTown.html