Helplessness Blues

Wisdom from Fleet Foxes

This week I’m reflecting on the first verse of Helplessness Blues by the Fleet Foxes. The song is great, I encourage a listen, but here are the lyrics to the first verse:

I was raised up believing I was somehow unique
Like a snowflake distinct among snowflakes
Unique in each way you could see
And now after some thinking, I'd say I'd rather be
A functioning cog in some great machinery
Serving something beyond me
But I don't, I don't know what that will be
I'll get back to you someday soon, you will see

I love this wisdom. First, everyone is in fact a unique snowflake- but the genius of these lyrics is making this absurd. We were not just brought up knowing we were unique snowflakes, we were brought up knowing we were especially special snowflakes. In my family, this was absolutely true. We were all not just special and loved, but we were expected to do great things because of how special we were. Throughout high school I would intentionally underperform, such that I would never try and fail and thus disappoint those who expected me to cure cancer or become the president- both real aspirations for me from my dad, by the way. If I got a 90 on a test I didn’t study for, that was better than a 99 on a test I did study for, because the 90 was a comment on my studying while the 99 was a comment on me, my smarts, what made me so special in the eyes of my dad and the adults around me.

Robin Pecknold, the lead singer, then says that he now wants to be a part of a greater whole, and to have a purpose outside of himself. Both of these are so important for anyone, both emotionally and morally. It feels good to be a part of a community and serve a greater purpose, and at least for me I do a heck of a lot more good in the world when I’m not worrying about my specialness and protecting my ego but instead engaging in the shared project of making the world better.

Robin ends this first verse with a surprise, at least to me- he doesn’t yet know what that greater purpose will be for him. Personally, I’m always pretty sure of what purpose I should be following- it’s the action part, not the deliberating, deciding or conviction part, that I need to get better at. But I like this line anyways, because it reminds me to be humble about my purpose. As sure as I am now about what I should do in this world, I have been sure before in very, very different ways. Even if I am right this time, humility is something I never have enough of.

Give the full song a listen- I know this song means lots of different things to different people. I am curious to hear what stands out to you!