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The things we love the most are frail. So easily broken and crumpled. The balances in our lives are so delicate, the difference between happy and distraught so slight, the stay on this earth so short. We know of this frailty but we don’t appreciate it enough. We tend to live like we have a plan without knowing the universe really has the plan and we are just short-term travelers. While we know of this frailty in us, we don’t appreciate it enough in others. How much they struggle, how much they feel like crumpled petals.

Last night I went to a Herbert Groenemeyer concert (Germany’s biggest rock star and musical artist) and the lyrics to “Mensch” touched me deeply:

and it’s, it’s ok
everything is on its way
and it is apparent time
unclouded and easy
and the human is called human
because he errs and because he fights
and because he hopes and loves
because he sympathizes and forgives
because he forgets
because he represses
and because he raves and believes
leans and trusts
and because he laughs
and because he lives
you are missed
He wrote this song after his wife died young, dealing with grief and children at home in desperate need of his support and belief that everything will be ok.
It was a beautiful moment when 15,000 people sang the lyrics, all little petals with hopes, fears and tragedies. Everybody just looking for nourishment through love and empathy. All in that moment. A moment that will never happen again. We sang through our frailty and individual desperation. And it was more than ok.