With a Little Luck

Trigger warning:  I'm not all that keen on the Beatles.  There.  I said it.  I'll go one step further:  I think they're mostly overrated.  Don't get me wrong, they did some pretty great songs, and there's no question how influential they were on the music scene at the time, all the way up to today.  They were a boy band, but unlike those of the 90s, they actually played their own instruments.  They wrote their own stuff.  And they were ridiculously prolific, especially considering how short a time they were together.  Like, crazy prolific.  But, in my humble opinion, for every great song they produced, there were probably three that were "meh" at best and pretty crappy at worst.  

And, of course, the end of the Beatles paved the way for Paul McCartney and Wings.  Now there's a band I can get excited about.  I remember hearing "Band on the Run" on the radio when I was a kid, and seeing the scene in the James Bond film "Live and Let Die" when that song comes on while African dancing and flames are on the screen.  Both songs are epic in their journeys from beginning to end, and any section from either could stand on its own as a great song, but the whole is worth so much more than the sum of its parts.  My kids have "Blackbird" on their own playlists.  Where love songs are concerned, "My Love" and "Maybe I'm Amazed" are about as good as it gets (BTW, if you haven't heard Bryan Duncan's recording of the latter, complete with gospel choir, seek it out and give it a listen.  You won't be sorry.).  And who doesn't sing along to the "Woos" in "Jet" when it comes on the radio?  

But the song that's been going through my head today is "With a Little Luck."  I haven't heard the song in ages, but for some reason I woke up this morning thinking, "There is no end to what we can do together."  "There is no end to what we can do together."  Again.  "There is no end to what we can do together."  I don't know about you, but I feel like the world is completely out of control right now.  We are so divided--country versus country, state versus state, city versus city, church versus church, neighbor versus neighbor.  Even families are divided on political or religious or opinion lines.  I spend more time than I should on social media, and it's unbelievable what people argue about:

    <<Picture of a green apple>>

    Johnny:  What a pretty green apple.

    Marsha:  Actually, it's chartreuse.

    Lorna:  You think that's pretty?  I only like red apples.  If you like green apples,         you aren't a real Christian.

    Evan:  Is that really an apple?  It looks more like a cow to me.

    Scott:  Meat is murder.

    Vicki:  You mispeled aple.  Stoopid.

Despite what it looks like on the interwebs, we are all on the same side.  Take a look at the person on your left.  The person on your right.  The person on TV or Facebook or Insta.  We are all the same.  Members of the same body.  Feathers on the same bird.  Leaves on the same tree.  You get the picture.  And "With a little luck, we can help it out; we can make this whole damn thing work out."  Taking sides only leads to conflict.  When we work together, "there is no end to what we can do."  

What are the problems in the world?  Hunger, child abuse and neglect, racism, sexism, war, climate change, resurgence of childhood diseases, and the list goes on . . .  What are the problems in your world?  Damaged relationships, financial difficulties, unfulfilling work, parenting concerns . . . Which of these situations couldn't be improved by humans pulling together?  We are stronger together.  We can accomplish more together.  We are a T.E.A.M. (Together Everyone Achieves More).  With a little luck, and a lot of cooperation, we can fix the world.  When you are overcome with despair or discouragement, just remember:

"There is no end to what we can do together.

There is no end to what we can do together."

Let's do something.  Together.