Say Hello, Wave Goodbye

“May you live every day of your life.” ― Jonathan Swift

Have you ever heard a song that so perfectly summarises your emotions, it consumes you and takes you to a whole new dimension. Music is a powerful medium that humans have obsessed over the waves of emotion that sound give us and takes you on the musicians intended journey. But more often than not, we seem to interpret music in our own way, often completely confusing the lyrics, either by choice or misheard. Like in life, we see things differently to those around us, its often not a conscious choice - but it is a subtle reminder that our experiences can be vastly different to those around us, even when it all seems the same.

It is 2024 and I was seated on a plane, I had just been travelling through Europe for the last 2 months with the love of my life, we had just moved across the other side of the world and ready to spend a few years living abroad in a new country. In this plane and ready for take off on the tarmac - all of the cabin crew safety checks completed and the usual quiet that descends across the aircraft just before it speeds ahead for the skies and a song comes on that completely changed my perspective on life. This song summed up so many emotions, so much confusion and internal struggle that I had faced for so many years - in a period of 8 minutes and 58 seconds, I had been transported to a whole new emotional state and I played this same song on repeat for the entire journey. “Say Hello, Wave Goodbye” - David Gray, is a cover of the classic song from 1981 by the band Soft Cell. David has managed to transform this song into a powerful vessel, its lyrics resonating with my emotions and medically inducing me into a state of meditation.

I look across to my partner and as the plane begins to gather speed, our hands intertwine to hold each other before the moment that the wheels leave the runway. It is our silent communication of love and it is our love language communicating non verbally. This is something subconscious that we have always done before every plane landing or departure, in this tradition, we are always telling each other that we love the other and if something were to happen on this journey, we are together and at peace in those moments.

“We were born before the wind, Say Goodbye, Through the rain, hail, sleet and snow, Say Goodbye”.

If this moment is to be the end of my life, I am at a peace I have never experienced before. I have been so fortunate to experience so much love, lived with so much joy and witnessed the world. We are just fleeting moments in the universe, so miniscule in the grand scheme of history - but our small and insignificant lives are full of our own significant moments and memories. I fear the unknown darkness of our individual demise, but this moment showed me that I have found true gratitude for life. This was a reminder that I had lived the way I had always wanted, my inner child had fulfilled their dreams and my current sense of self had realised their purpose.

This life wasn’t made to be easy, or pretty or perfect - this life is yours to build and live as you wish.

My purpose in life wasn’t through a job or career, it wasn’t through money or validation for others. My purpose is to continue to give love and joy, surrounding myself with the same energy, my purpose is to be a good person, to always be grateful and to be remembered in this way. We are so blessed to be here in this moment, but we are just passing through this life, we are just here on the plane holding hands for the first time, or the last. This life wasn’t made to be easy, or pretty or perfect - this life is yours to build and live as you wish. It can be gone in a moment and you’ll become a distant memory for those that knew you, you’ll be remembered in the songs that you sang, the smell of the lingering hug that is no longer there to be felt. How precious are these moments “in the wind and the rain now darling, say goodbye”.

This life is fleeting, those quiet moments we shared, where words cannot fill the gaps that our touch can. We know what we have, we know the power that this connection holds. How could a song about a man ending a tumultuous relationship with a call-girl, give me this much meaning of life. For me, it makes sense “get on the train and say goodbye”, this life was just a passing journey and eventually as quickly as we all said hello and shared these moments of utter joy, we must eventually say goodbye. But for these moments, we are fleetingly remembered. We might not ever meet again, we might only have one moment - but this one moment, is enough. Make the one moment of love, surrounded by those that give you love and energy, enough. They will know, they feel it too, they see it on your face. When it happens, and it will happen eventually, lets put the song on that gave us our connection, the one about falling in love far too quickly on holidays, the one that takes us back to the place we both feel so well and we can smile for the memories and moments. We can let the tears flow as we remember, but make sure you smile. Because throughout it all, there was always so so much to smile about.