Synesthesia Art Show

Matthew 6:34 | Song: A Dustland Fairytale by The Killers

In second grade, I moved from Utah to California. And in third grade, I loved the monkey bars.

I remember one day I came home and was telling my mom about the monkey bar set at school. I started to say that it was a really good set, but that it wasn’t as good as the set we had at…and for a split-second I couldn’t remember. I couldn’t remember the name of my old elementary school in Utah. That’s when I knew it was happening: I was forgetting, and it was terrible. I went up to my room and cried.

. . .

If you’ve ever been on the monkey bars, you know they’re all about timing. When to grab hold, when to swing, when to let go.

I think that in a weird way, that’s what this song is about. It’s about the monkey bars. It’s about navigating the balancing act of knowing when to grip tight, when to let the bar slip through your fingers, and the pain you sometimes feel while doing so. Because nobody really gets it down without getting some of those nasty blisters we were all so proud of.

“Let everything happen to you.

Beauty and terror.

Just keep going.

No feeling is final.” -Rainer Maria Rilke