Do You Realize??

What A Concert Reminded Me About The Relationships We Hold And How Fleeting Life Can Be

“Do you realize, that everyone you know someday will die?”
-Wayne Coyne, The Flaming Lips

I was lucky enough to take my wife, my daughter, and her friend to The Flaming Lips’ concert last night. It was especially poignant because when my children were younger, I would constantly listen to one of their albums, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots.

Quick Aside: If you’ve read some of my other posts you may know that I also have a son. He wasn’t able to join us due to work obligations, which sucks, but we had his blessing, and so we went.

The significance of this band, of that particular album especially, was that it essentially became the soundtrack to my children’s childhoods.

We had just moved to Colorado in the early 2010’s and we were there with no extended family. We really had to rely on each other and every time I hear this music it brings me back to that difficult, but cherished, time. We were all younger, and the music serves as a sort of time capsule that holds those memories.

It is sentimental and every time we hear songs from it now (10-15 years after discovering it for ourselves), we are immediately catapulted back to an earlier time when both kids were just, well, kids.

Whenever we were heading out for a family day together, we would have that album playing in the car. It didn’t have any curse words, and it was good music. As a result, it was something that we could all listen to together. And we did, a lot.

Now, they’re both grown. It was amazing to be able to experience this with my wife for her 49th birthday, our daughter, and her friend. It was a full circle moment.

My daughter just turned 18, just graduated high school, and is now starting her own adult life in this world. Last night was one of those moments where you look back and can hardly believe how much time has passed, and how much we have all grown.

One song in particular, Do you Realize??, really hits home.

The song is a reminder that life is fleeting and that the people that you love, every single one of them, won’t be here forever. The song could be interpreted as a sad song I suppose, but it is really a song of love. It’s a song to remind us all that our time is limited and that we need to tell the people in our lives how truly special they are to us. It is a reminder to appreciate them.

While introducing the song last night, the lead singer, Wayne Coyne, asked the audience to gather close to the people who they had come to the concert with. He asked us all to actually vocalize to each other how much we love and appreciate the people we were there with. It was a great message and a great reminder to do this more often in our own lives.

I couldn’t help but tear up a little bit as they began playing the song. At the time we were first listening to this album almost 15 years ago, we were raising our young children together. Now, we were at a concert celebrating my wife’s birthday and reflecting on how fast the time has passed.

As the band performed and the song engulfed us, there was moment unspoken reflection. Of connection. I looked over at my wife as she fought back the tears. I smiled at her and kissed her on the cheek as if to say, “I know, and I’ve got you. We are still here, together.”

Life isn’t easy, as we all know. It is the people that we share our lives with that make this journey so incredibly special.

My hope for you today, and always, is that you have someone in your life that you love and/or appreciate.

I want to share this message with you. Hearing this song last night was a loud reminder, literally and figuratively, that life is so fast. That this moment is temporary. That we are all evolving and that none of us have an unlimited time here together.

Every day is special. Everyone you get to share your days with is too.

Enjoy this journey as much as you can and cherish those who share it with you.