Thank you, Michael Franti.

Today is Monday. It’s hard not to think about this fact. The weekend’s done, and a new week is starting up. It’s cloudy out, I’m dragging, and it’s gonna be a lonnnnnng week.

But I’m not gonna Eeyore this morning. Nope. Why?

Because Michael Franti and Spearhead made me smile on my ride to school.

His music is plain-old HAPPY. I saw him open for Mayer in March, and I knew he brought this feel to the stage, but I only danced to it (not on stage, unfortunately [cough]). I didn’t listen hard enough at the time. The song that I was lucky enough to hear today, though, was called “I’ll Be Waiting,” and it turned my “case of the Mondays” attitude into more of a “case of the Tuesdays” vibe. I listened this morning, and the lyrics that really caught me were:

“The best things in life are things

The laughing and crying.

The best things in life are things

The frightened, they’re still fighting…”

He’s speaking TRUTH. The musical aspect of the song was friendly, and the lyrics are right. It’s all about smiles and cries. I wanna add this song to the mix tape of my life right now.

“I Won’t Back Down” by Tom Petty and “War of My Life” by Johnny May are on this list too. They all have similar themes with various degrees of badass-ness thrown in. Franti’s has more of an “I’ve got your back” feel to it, but it’s got the same message: “Keep fighting on. Don’t give up, and things will be ok.”

The back of my mind believes this message, but when outside forces try to take this belief away it’s a lot harder to hold onto. Songs like this and moments of clarity in between the bullshit and the work are what bring the idea BACK. It’s the last limb on the bottom of the tree you’re falling out of, and it’s there to catch just before you hit the ground. You’ve just gotta throw your hands up and try to grab it, because I promise it’s there. Hang on, climb back up, and keep going, because there’s a much better view at the top of the tree than from the bottom.

I’m working on getting to the next branch now, and I’m gonna tell myself to keep going.

Until I get to that next one, I’ll sit through this Monday with a thanks to Michael Franti and a good song in my head.

D.