Let’s break the mould…

I have a confession to make. I am a stats freak. Well not so much of an expert, but at the very least here, on Misfit at Heart, I am very interested in seeing where you guys are coming from and what posts are most popular. This is how I have noticed that some of you have been doing some “catch up reading” while waiting for the next episode (hmm, the latter part is me assuming, of course.) So to make sure you don’t get bored… I’m changing the writing structure of the series now and then. Anyway, let’s get down to it, shall we!

Expecting a summary… too bad ?

“If you know you don’t know something, how do you get a clear view? It’s by asking.” – Marko Saaresto

I love to think. That much should be obvious to anyone who reads this blog. Marko has created a challenge without meaning to and I took it without flinching. I have ascertained, through the first four songs on Clearview that THE question we are bound to ask ourselves first in order to get a clear view on things is: who are you? Supposing that we want the said clear view on things… life… etc. Some aspects in these songs have been kept aside… just like a recipe… for later. Well, now is later.

Life is a game of chess and we are the pieces moving on its board. Simple… Not! I can’t play chess. Nobody is perfect. I know that much though: we are the pieces, in other words, we are either pawns, knights, bishops, towers, queens or kings. Since a game of chess has so many pawns, I guess the majority of us are just that: pawns. As such, the puppet masters of the world are having a field trip trying to drive us astray when our only goal is to cross that board keeping our sanity – or insanity – intact, right. Nothing is all black or all white, and the “puppet master astride a pale horse” (i.e. The Game) does not seem to belong to the board… he is mostly outside which makes it easier for him/her to pull the strings. Therefore, I wonder whether we really are just pawns or can we be another piece on the chess board, such as a knight (i.e. the album’s cover art)? Who are you? Are you but a chess piece or your own puppet master too? I believe that the first four songs on the Clearview album are giving us some clues to partly answer such questions.

I’ve got this madman in my mind […]
Just one chance to kill it dead, but I will embrace it
– Poets of the Fall, Drama for Life

How do we get from getting to know ourselves to getting a clear view? What kind of “tools” do we have? The madness within – to which we can certainly associate our own personal puppet master, the inner-child and the most important of all, love without which it might prove very difficult to get to the two first (if that make sense).

I been waiting, feel the love rebuilding
off the edge now, falling down
– Poets of the Fall, The Child in Me

The other important tool… we are it because all this above will never ever happen if we give up. ?

You’re still fighting, I see, like a modern day Bruce Lee
Standing proud in this parody
– Poets of the Fall, Once Upon a Playground Rainy

Episode 5 – Children of the Sun

One of my favourites on Clearview… if I had any… I would define Children of the Sun as beautiful and soothing. It is almost like a parent, a sibling, a spouse or a friend, who’s already been where you are, is talking to you. A person stroking your hair gently, comforting you while saying that it’s gonna be alright, so don’t give up. It is the music, the melody, the voice, the words… and the images from the video that make that song very special to me.

Children of the Sun to the Clearview theme

Think about it! This is perfect story telling. Once Upon a Playground Rainy ends with the simple observation that you are still standing and have not given up yet. Children of the Sun is about just that, not giving up. From “pawn” to “knight”, there is but a gigantic step. It is some sort of hyperbole to show that we don’t have to know the rules. We might as well just make our own by not letting go of who we are… as long as we have that figured out. At the same time, not everything is up to us. Not giving up means that we keep Hope strong in our hearts, with faith in others. Thus doing, we are moving from getting a clear view of ourselves to getting a clear view of the world. At the very least, the beginning of one. How do we do that? By having faith in others… and to be able to do that, the next question should be: who are they? From “pawn” to “knight”… I just mean that we do not have to endure, we can take control and become the heroes of our own story.

Parallel to life,
there’s wisdom that seems out of reach,
like a figure of speech,
in a maze of white lies
– Poets of the Fall, Children of the Sun

The truth of it all is that we don’t have to go through life alone. Life is messy and the simple steps of figuring out how things are, become just as messy. There is no step one, step two, etc. Beyond the game of chess, life is a dance where the steps are repetitive but choreographed. We only need to learn them… if you have two left feet like me, it might take you a little longer than others to get it, but you will. The beauty of all this lies in the fact that it is a life long learning process. No matter the hurt, the obstacles or whatnot, the journey is just as beautiful as the destination. Just as long as we don’t give up, it is all worth it. Of course, this is my own extrapolation on the thoughts we’ve encountered in Clearview so far.

Clearview on what…

“If you know you don’t know something, how do you get a clear view? It’s by asking.” – Marko Saaresto

We grow up and sometimes we get lost… in order to find our way again, we should consider asking for direction now and then. To whom? I guess it is what Clearview is trying to find out at some point. Children can often find their way when they want something, especially when games are involved. Our inner-child might hold some answers. Artists (in the widest sense possible) have their own truths, most of the time quite accurate despite the madness of the ideas. So many possibilities… trust in each other might be another element of an answer.

I have my own set of rules, my own vision which may – or may not – be the same as yours. I’d love to hear about how you see things and how Clearview is channelling those thoughts. Drop me a line in the comments section below!

Next episode: Shadow Play.

Thanks for reading,
Until next time! ?

About the series…

“Clearview is a clear view on things that you are unclear about basically, because […] it’s really, simply said it’s about asking. If you think you know something, that’s fine, but if you know you don’t know something, how do you get a clear view? It’s by asking. So, that’s basically what it’s about. But that’s a, I think also, a very big topic that we could really talk, like, a lot.”
– Marko Saaresto, August 2017 (transcript by Yours Truly)

• New Series – Poets of the Fall, Clearview Simply said – 1st episode
• New Series – Poets of the Fall, Clearview Simply said – 2nd episode
• New Series – Poets of the Fall, Clearview Simply said – 3rd episode
• New Series – Poets of the Fall, Clearview Simply said – 4th episode