On truth, redemption and the desire for connection





I think a lot about the spiritual side of life. The search for a deeper meaning in things, and the desire for transcendence.  

I don’t believe in an afterlife, and I think if there’s a god, then god isn’t, as Nick Cave sings in his gorgeous song Into My Arms, an interventionist god. 

 

But I think as humans we’re always striving for redemption. To atone for our flaws and our mistakes. And heaven knows, I’ve made a few mistakes. But to quote LCD Soundsystem’s All My Friends: “I wouldn’t trade one stupid decision / for another five years of life.”

 

It’s this desire for redemption and atonement in Spiritualized songs that speaks so deeply and intensely to me. The Spaceman articulates perfectly just how I feel as a deeply flawed human being and my desire to be better, to find a deeper truth.

 

To my way of thinking, the most important things in life are music, literature, art and poetry and – most importantly – a desire to have deep human connections. 

 

I no longer have time for the superficial. When I talk to people, I want to know what’s important to them, what makes them tick. What are their passions and desires? I want to feel, just for a moment, that we’re fellow travellers in this short journey we call life. That I see them and value them as someone seeking to become a fully realised human. 

 

Without human connection, we are nothing. This life is all we have, and I want my life to be filled with beauty and when I leave this earth, I want to live on in the hearts and minds of the people I have loved, and who have loved me.

 

And this is my message to Phil and Naz: the connection we have is sacred. It is something to be guarded and fought for. And part of that is being vulnerable. Exposing yourself because that exposure will come back to you in terms of love and support. I have a policy of radical transparency in my life. I have no filter and no guardrails. I will never bullshit my friends or give them anything but the unvarnished truth.

 

And I trust that, in turn, my friends will tell me where I am going wrong. That they will also offer unvarnished truths. Because without honesty and transparency, we can’t grow. We can’t become fully realised humans.

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