Month of Music Day 5 P.O.D. Alive Satellite Everyday is a new day I’m thankful for every breath I take I won’t take it for granted So I learn from my mistakes It’s beyond my control, sometimes it’s best to let go Whatever happens in this lifetime So I trust in love You have given me peace of mind [Chorus:] I feel so alive for the very first time I can’t deny you I feel so alive I feel so alive for the very first time And I think I can fly Sunshine upon my face A new song for me to sing Tell the world how I feel inside Even though it might cost me everything Now that I know this, so beyond, I can’t hold this I can never turn my back away Now that I’ve seen you I can never look away [Chorus:] I feel so alive for the very first time I can’t deny you I feel so alive I feel so alive for the very first time And I think I can fly [Bridge:] Now that I know you (I could never turn my back away) Now that I see you (I could never look away) Now that I know you (I could never turn my back away) Now that I see you (I believe no matter what they say) [Chorus: x2] I feel so alive for the very first time I can’t deny you I feel so alive I feel so alive for the very first time And I think I can fly

My Take:

I've explained the story of how I got up on September 11, 2001. Not going to go over that again. But even after that, I can still listen to this song with all the history that I have behind it. Not just for the obvious historical reference, it marked some new territory for me. I was now listening to stuff that people had heard of. That morning started with a lot of promise. That was new to me, and a little scary. Not scary as in I'm becoming mainstream, but scary in that maybe the world was starting to become a wonderful place, and we were going to have a golden era of peace, and getting back to God. I was thinking about how kids today were going to have the chance to show that we can live in a world that doesn't resort to blowing stuff up to get its way. Then I got out of the shower. It's odd, when you think about it. I was thousands of miles from the action, yet I was happy to be alive. I was thankful for every breathe I took. But that was nothing, back in the Fall of 2001. After completing our part of the mission in Iraq, I was overwhelmed with the sense that we were finally getting to leave. As we were getting the last pieces of junk ready to move, I couldn't contain my excitement. I think I slept 2 hours the last week I was in the Suni triangle. It was a bliss that I can't explain, to know you are getting out of something so Hellish, so hot and unforgiving. To know that you will soon return to the ones you love, and be free again. I looked forward to blue-jeans and girls in blue-jeans. Back to civilization. As we were driving back, I couldn't help but keep being overcome by the emotion: going home. Honestly, war is war...it's everything it's cracked up to be. Most of us didn't want to leave a second before the job was done, but not a second after. That was me. I volunteered to stay on the all the details, as I knew that I wasn't coming home to somebody that I loved, other than my family, and we're not that close. But I knew other people were so weary of the distance, I wanted them home as soon as possible. When my name was on the manifest, I took my sleeping pills, and excitedly got on the plane. It was like a dream...the first time I've ever found New Jersey pleasant. Coincidentally, it was Fort Dix where I did Basic Training. And it would be my first taste of America, and where I got another 2 hours of excited sleep. For some reason, as I watched the green green grass, and felt the cold (!) air, the song's chorus came to me again.

I feel so alive for the very first time I can’t deny you I feel so alive I feel so alive for the very first time And I think I can fly

And I did fly. Back to Georgia. Back to my family. Back to my life. Back to freedom. I feel so alive.

status: published
author: John Stansbury
cms: wordpress
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  similarterms: alive feel back time chorus deny turn song scary home world family peace love hours people thankful leave stuff knew