“You cannot stand anywhere in the universe that is outside of yourself.” – Deepak Chopra.
Peter Mayer has written many great songs about humankind’s journey and interconnectedness. In “My Soul” he tackles the paradox of how we can feel so small in this universe, and yet at the same time have moments where our soul expands to become one with the Source of All Being.
It is difficult to describe these numinous experiences, but Mayer’s splendid contemplative guitar-playing, and soulful lyrics are admirable. Our lives are stitches in the quilt of the universe, specks of paint in the big picture, and quarter notes in the march of time connecting the past, present, and future. “So, we live this life together, my giant soul and tiny me!”
There are a hundred billion snowflakes swirling in the cosmic storm
And each one is a galaxy, a billion stars or more
And each star is a million earths, a giant fiery sun
High up in some sky, maybe shining on someone
And deep inside a snowflake, I am floating quietly
I am infinitesimal, impossible to see
Sitting in my tiny kitchen in my tiny home
Staring out my window at a universe of snow
But my soul is so much bigger than the very tiny me
It reaches out into the snowstorm like a net into the sea
Out to all the lovely places where my body cannot go
I touch that beauty and embrace it in the bosom of my soul
And so brief and fleeting is this tiny life of mine
Like a single quarter note in the march of time
But my soul is like the music, it goes back to ancient days
Back before it wore a human face, long before it bore my name
Because my soul is so much older than the evanescent me
It can describe the dawn of time like a childhood memory
It is a spark that was begotten of the darkness long ago
What my body has forgotten, I remember in my soul
So, we live this life together, my giant soul and tiny me
One resembling forever, one like smoke upon the breeze
One the deep abiding ocean, one a sudden flashing wave
And counting galaxies like snowflakes, I would swear we were the same
Oh, my soul belongs to beauty, takes me up to lofty heights
Teaches sacred stories to me, sanctifies my tiny life
Lays a bridge across the ages, melts the boundaries of my bones
Paints a bold eternal face on this passing moment, oh my soul