Invictus Pilgrim Memoir: The Other Side

12/9/10:

After I began the process of coming out, a number of songs I listened to took on different meanings for me as I related them to what I was going through. One such song was an Anne Murray ballad entitled, "The Other Side." It had meant a lot to me since I was first introduced to it in the late 90's.

"As I have faced personal, professional and family challenges since then," I wrote in a post on 9 December 2010, "I have received a lot of inspiration from these words." These challenges had included going back to law school for a year when I was 43 years old, studying for and passing the Utah Bar and adopting three Russian babies over the course of four years.

"Now that I have embarked on this new journey," I wrote,  "the lyrics have taken on additional meaning. I have prepared my very first video/slide show to present this song. I hope you like it, and that some of you may find the inspiration in this song that I have. (Lyrics below video)

The Other Side

Through each life time - run rivers to cross

What if there's no life line and you're sinking or lost?

Just believe in your direction,

Let your heart explore,

Cause you can't reach new horizons

Standing on the shore

There are mountains - we need to climb

But the mountains standing in the way 

are only in our minds

And the risk of going nowhere

Is the greatest risk of all,

So just listen to the voice that says

“I'll catch you if you fall.”

On the other side of doubt is faith

On the other side of pain lies strength

The journey may seem endless

And you know the road is rough

But on the other side of fear... is love

For such a long time I put my dreams aside

The tides of change felt dangerous

The mountains seemed too high …

But my dreams were slowly fading

As time went quickly by,

So I held me breath with every step

Never knowing I would find...

On the other side of doubt is faith

On the other side of pain lies strength

The journey may seem endless

And you know the road is rough

But on the other side of fear... is love

____________________

(I began the process of coming out in October 2010. I'm working on writing a memoir about the year following that coming out, and in order to help me stay on task, I've decided to publish this ongoing series of posts based primarily on the blog - entitled "Invictus Pilgrim" - that I kept during that year.)