Expecting a summary… sorry… just a very long intro ?

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

I think that I got a bit sidetracked with the previous episode – Children of the Sun – or at the very least I was not as clear in my train of thought as I was in the previous episodes. I will try and fix that… not sure it’ll work though. ? I realise that there was a lot of “have to” and “should this or that”… so much for my initial resolution of NOT doing precisely that. Oh well, no one is perfect as I said before, and I thankfully am far from it.

Leaving the game of chess aside, let’s see if I can be – if not concise – more specific about what we’ve learnt so far. Drama for Life has a touch of madness within that cannot be ignored if we want to truly know ourselves and move forward. Easy, peasy… inner dialogue: ask yourself about yourself… after all, who knows you better?

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

The influence of the outside world, that is to say where we spend our lives as “grown ups“, can screw up someone’s pretty mind and give birth to this inner-saboteur Marko calls the puppet master. At the same time, if your inner-demon takes control, he/she is out in the world manipulating situations and people too… etc. you get the picture, vicious circle. Anyway, that’s The Game we’ve all got to play.

See/Hear the puppet master laugh, astride a pale horse […]
When love, love could be our crown
– Poets of the Fall, The Game

Of course, what is the most powerful tool in the world? Well, I can tell you that it is neither money nor power… Yep, that’s it! Love. Love as a tool to manipulate others, if you ask me it is rather sick but since it is in our nature as a species, I’ve gotta mention it. How do we come to such fate? Since we are not “true” psychopaths (at the very least, not all of us are), the puppet master must have taken the spotlight to the cost of somebody else, who was rather important… any guess of whom that might be? Ourselves… well, at least a part of what makes us whole: our inner-child, the one I suspect is more prone to favour the madness within and let love in than anyone else.

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

It is therefore important, nay vital to keep that part of ourselves alive because it is our way towards a clear view on who we are as an individual among a crowd of individuals and where we fit in. ? Going down memory lane is a good start, even though “Past isn’t worth debating” (Clevermind, Revolution Roulette). Trying to understand how we got from there to here and maybe act in consequence… or just realise that we have not given up yet.

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

Since we have not given up yet, we are vulnerable to the trials of life. We are vulnerable to others and their power over us. As the Children of the Sun, we are, however, those who do not surrender and we take comfort and strength in others. We fight on to see a brighter future show up after all the struggle. We do not stand alone and we all know that, after the storm… You see, either we lean on others for support or we lean on ourselves. It all depends on how you see things. But I believe it is very much a bit of both.

You hold on to me […]
And I’ll be singing you songs of tomorrow […]
And our sorrows all undone
– Poets of the Fall, Children of the Sun

Episode 6 – Shadow Play

I said this before, but I’ll say it again: Poets of the Fall have a knack for telling stories and Clearview has a bloody brilliant story-telling! Because we all have to remember the undeniable truth which is that we all follow the same path of self-discovery whether we like it or not. Some might just get lost on the way, others might just stop where they feel the comfiest… but ultimately, we all go through it. Accepting it might be another story though. ? Anyway, Shadow Play points out that even though we play the game of “love manipulation” – which according to me is anything but love, but that might just be me ? – we might not have to play it after all.

Mark my words it’s never what you thought
– Poets of the Fall, Shadow Play

Shadow Play to the Clearview theme

What I wonder is why we play the game. I mean is it that important to be recognized in a world of outward appearances. What is it that we gain by building a life of make-believe? We strive for perfection according to “good and evil” as we are taught through biased fairy tales and video games (?); news flash – or not – perfection is but a figment of our imagination.

The princess rescued
It’s all what you create
Your shadows will be played
– Poets of the Fall, Shadow Play

Life as we think- or wish – it is, easy and where we have all the control… that life is just a Shadow Play where our roles, as characters in that play, are only a shadow of ourselves. As long as we play the game, we won’t be able to see ourselves for who we really are. In the end, old habits die hard and if we can’t admit that and do something about it, we’ll get stuck somewhere in a Shadow Play we do not belong to.This reminds me of an interesting discussion I had with my friends this weekend – not the old habits part. We were talking about my friend Y. and how she was “defined” by others who thought they knew her. The truth of it, though, is that Y. is a 100% Y. This is who she is, period. No fooling around, no lies, no shadow play… she is 100% Y. Pretty neat! ?

Clearview on what…

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

The more episodes I write, the further I realise that Clearview is very much about self-discovery. This is not a ten steps method, or you know dos and don’ts. It is pointing out truths, often inconvenient ones, to send us on our way… the real one, where we are – or should be – a 100% ourselves.

So what is it that we are asking here… Who am I?… hmm! maybe but not only… where is the nearest exit and how do I get there?

Just for the fun of it though, remember Poets of the Fall‘s trilogies and what they were about? ? In my early post Poets of the Fall struck me like lightning, I wrote: each album from a trilogy represents a moment in life such as “Birth, growth and then the outcome”. What each trilogy stands for is less relevant at this point. However, if you think about it, would not Clearview be THE question(s) on how to fathom these three big moments in life: birth, growth and outcome? Yeah, I know… twisted especially if it is made on purpose ? … in which case it’d also be rather brilliant… and now I am being geeky ?… so until next time folks!

Next episode: Center Stage.

Thanks for reading,
Take care! ?

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
• New Series – Poets of the Fall, Clearview Simply said – 5th episode