both sides NOW !

Both sides now . Lyrics Joni Mitchell
Bows and flows of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere, i've looked at cloud that way.
But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone.
So many things i would have done but clouds got in my way.

I've looked at clouds from both sides now,
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions i recall.
I really don't know clouds at all.

Moons and junes and ferris wheels, the dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real; i've looked at love that way.
But now it's just another show. you leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know, don't give yourself away.

I've looked at love from both sides now,
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions i recall.
I really don't know love at all.

Tears and fears and feeling proud to say "i love you" right out loud,
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds, i've looked at life that way.
But now old friends are acting strange, they shake their heads, they say
I've changed.
Something's lost but something's gained in living every day.

I've looked at life from both sides now,
From win and lose, and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall.
I really don't know life at all.

This song by Joni Mitchell perhaps sums up best what we call empathy. This song has appeared in quite a few movies and has a special something to it. It always manages to give me goose bumps. As with most of her songs or singers of her generation she manages to touch common ground with a diverse group of listeners. Well enough with the music lecture what is special about this song is the carefully written lyrics. The title 'both sides is meaningful as throws light on a deeper understanding of life and of ‘truth’. Maybe truth is too mythical a concept it would be appropriate to call it truthfulness. Wilfred Owen once said, "All a poet can do today is warn. That is why the true poet must be truthful." Owen doesn’t ask for the truth only truthfulness. The truth is often disputed and subjective and selective, truthfulness is honest it acknowledges the others point of view or truthfulness. Truthfulness knows it can change over time, it knows it isn’t finite or unquestionable.
Is truthfulness the same as a lie? No it isn’t. An undisputed truth is closer in its constitution to a lie than truthfulness. A good example of this would be the rashomon effect. The Rashomon effect is the effect of the subjectivity on recollection, by which an observers is able to produce substantially different but equally plausible accounts of an event. It is named after Akira Kurosawa's film Rashomon, in which a crime witnessed by four individuals is described in four mutually contradictory ways. Each individual’s narrative is their own version of the truth.
Similarly Joni Mitchell after experiencing an event isn’t certain or ready to state the truth. She rather keep her options open and allow herself to learn and also experience the same event again. So often our beliefs are rigid and frozen with a few experiences life throws at us that we rather not see things in new light. We are told to believe is good that having a strong conviction is good, yet if our convictions are too strong we tend to hold onto them long after they cease to be useful.
Mitchell wrote this song in 1969. Her candid uncertainty and her courage to say she doesn’t know life at all take courage. Her courage comes not from knowing that she is right but knowing that she can be wrong too- I really don't know life at all………. Can we be uncertain of our certainity ?

link to the video