Just want to thank you. . .

All of the times that I have strayed

You've brought me back again
Just want to thank you for being around
Picking me up when I was down 

How many times have you strayed?  There are moments where you lose your way, lose your sense of self.  When you stray you're taking a detour to explore another option or you genuinely are lost, whether you know it or not.  Then you have someone come along and help you to find your bearings, to locate yourself again, to feel grounded in the earth.  How many times has someone brought you back?  Maybe you're the person that usually brings people back.  If you are the one that normally brings people, but then you change roles and become the one that strays - it's like the world ends for everybody else around you.  They don't know how to deal with you and they don't understand what you're about.  Are they meant to know?  That's up to you.  But it is always good to pick someone up when they are down, rather than pushing someone down.  Whether they respond to your efforts or not, all you can do is acknowledge, accept and act on what you can control - yourself.

Maybe you're tired of working for the man
He'll do all he can to change you
Maybe you're tired of the filth in the system
Diluting the purities inside you

Realistically, who actually wants to work for the man?  The man stands for everything that oppresses others to ensure that only the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  Take from the disadvantaged who have been systemically pummeled by the state and give it to people who don't need it and do nothing with their wealth to help people that don't look like them.  Gross over-exaggeration?  Nope, it's pretty much what I've lived through as a Pacific Islander in New Zealand.  Has the man tried to change me? Of course. Plenty of times.  But Pacific Islanders are shapeshifters.  We're really good at adapting to our surroundings.  We've had to learn how to survive and acclimatise (I didn't want to say assimilate zzzzzz, that's a whole other conversation).  The more you work for the man,  the more that you do dilute your purity.  That part of yourself, the essence where your authenticity lives.

You know what you want
You know what you need
They can't take your mind
They can't take your mind

Have people tried to play mind games with you?  Emphasis on the word "tried".  The thing about people and mind games is that they try to pull it on you when you are at your deepest point of conviction, that part of you where you are adamant about your direction.  You know exactly where you're going and how to get there.  It's just a matter of putting in the hard yards and bringing it all to fruition.  What are the basic needs in your life that you cannot live without?  We're not talking about those creature comforts.  We're talking about the bare essentials and non-negotiables that speak to your very existence. Part of those bare essentials should include something that can equip you to deal with people and their mind games.  If you know that you have a strong mind, push it to the limit and make something of it.  Do not let other people try to take your mind and ruin it.

When it was I that began to fade
You brought me back again
Just want to thank you for being around
For opening my ears to the sound

Why do people fade away?  We can never really know for sure what their reasons are.  We need to be able to listen carefully and know what their story is.  This requires listening to someone without interrupting with constant comparisons or them revealing their own pain when they actually haven't fully finished listening to you - the person who instigated the conversation.  We are all capable of bringing people back again.  We can all do our part to make people feel loved, valued and celebrated.  You might not have all of the hours of the day to indulge in making every single person feel that way (let alone yourself too!) so it takes some careful planning to encourage conversations that should improve situations, clear the air or confront perceptions to shift people from their supposed realities.  All I need to worry about is my own mind and making sure that I gotta make it all mine. . .