Solsbury Hill

I'm losing my job today. My employer has chosen to shutter its Minnesota operations and those of us who were unable to relocate to distant Oregon will be out of work on Monday morning. It's not a sad thing, per se - business is business and my employer is making a rational decision, even if it causes me to endure temporary hardship. Peter Gabriel wrote one of his best songs on the occasion of his departure from the band Genesis. Following are the lyrics:

Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
Had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information
(I) just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
"Son," he said "Grab your things,
I've come to take you home."

To keep in silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Tho' my life was in a rut
"Till I thought of what I'd say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" he said "Grab your things
I've come to take you home."(Back home.)

When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No one taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" I said "You can keep my things,
they've come to take me home."

Gabriel's departure from Genesis is one of the greatest examples I know of the notion of "addition by subtraction." Genesis became a much more successful band after he left, while his own solo career has completely eclipsed his efforts with Genesis. Sometimes it's like that. You have to face whatever's ahead, with your heart going "boom boom boom," but it's always better to look ahead and trust that better days are coming. Because they are.