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In every live performance that we do, I like to do an 'altar call' of sorts, where, against a backdrop of some chosen song I tie in the experience of the evening with whatever inspiration the evening has provided us with. Every show is different. People often ask 'what song is that recorded on'... and it's not recorded anywhere... because every evening is different. With 'skin' I've tried to create an example of what that inspiration could be. Personally, I prefer the spontaneity of a live performance, with the words being the gifts the audience has returned to us. But such as it is... Listen to me I want to tell you something I want you to sit back, close your eyes and think about this: I want you to look at this thing we do this living and the vast complicated world we live in and the joy and suffering we experience the victories, the losses, the fear, the love there's so much to learn and we're just too short on time and we're too short on knowledge think of your skin in our skin it's too easy to feel how small and insignificant we are I want to tell you what I've learned about skin who we are within and without of this skin I want to tell you about the blessing and the beauty of skin the curse and the crime of it let me tell you what I know about the secret of skin: skin is a roadmap of our lives every freckle is a footprint and every scar is a snapshot of a point along our journey our skin is unique to us its colour and scent its solace and safety think about the dips, the valleys and the pleasures of it in giving, in receiving and knowing but we think our skin separates us from each other and from god in our darker moments we fear that this shell that holds our spirits is also our prison if we can't understand the secret of skin we're just like a dog who's only known a short rope and we sniff the air around our small worlds and snarl at those who walk too close in the confines of this, our skin, we forget who we are and think we're something we're not: alone separate isolated but we're not alone we're part of each other we're part of the world, the universe and beyond within us, without us and through us, we belong so if there's one thing we need to know and only one thing please believe this: we are here for a purpose know that you are here for a reason know that you have a right to be here you have a right to belong you have a right to speak, to breathe, to sing, to pray, to cry, to love, to shout out your hope and despair to reach out to others, to give, to receive, to know: there is a beauty in you a beauty that is unique only to you and that you have gifts to offer this world that no one else has that you have a light within yourself that shines as bright as any star and know that if you remove yourself from this, the whole we all become that much smaller so celebrate the skin celebrate yourself celebrate the world know that your skin is here to allow you to feel the hands you reach out to hold |
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