Better Than

Although walking doesn’t quite have the same calming effect for me as running, my stroll on the bike trail—my life’s soundtrack reverberating out of my iPhone—still made me more reflective. This afternoon, a familiar song came on rotation, and the music’s associations brought me back to an unforgettable summer traveling in a coach bus, snaking down the eastern coast of Australia, singing along with 40 high school People to People delegates.

I suppose its purpose is to set the tone for the day—we always have a “morning song”—it becomes our group’s anthem. At first, we are tentatively mouthing the words to the designated tune (chosen by our local leader), and at the end of the three-week journey, we are belting out the lyrics like we’re on stage at the Sydney Opera House (thankfully, we are not).

At the bottom of the hill today, our morning song, “Better Than,” from that summer came on, and John Butler’s words ransacked my thoughts.

All you want is
What you can't have
And if you just look around man
You see you got magic
So just sit back and relax
Enjoy it while you still have it
Don't look back on life and only see tragic

I’m not sure I have ever taken John’s advice to “sit back and relax.” In fact, I’m fairly certain that my modus operandi is the polar opposite; however, the last two lines of the first stanza speak to it.

Because you could be better than that
Don't let it get the better of you
What could be better than now
Life's not about what's better than
You can be better than that
Don't let it get the better of you
What could be better than now
Life's not about what's better

I’m all about using the power of positive thinking, but, despite my “shiny, happy people” exterior, I, too, am not immune to the occasional pessimistic thought. I do think I am good at turning off that negative switch, whether it is through the circuit of humor or through the charge of a simple affirmative phrase. I get it, John Butler. “Don’t let [cancer] get the better of you/What could be better than now.”