Outlasting Tough Times: Second Wind by Billy Joel

Whenever I think of Henry Bergson, the first thing that comes to my mind is his "Shipwreck Theory", where he states that when bad situations occur, no matter how sever, it will not last and solutions will eventually come into play that will make things better. To this day, I still think highly of Bergson's philiosophy because it embodies the old saying "Tough Times Don't Last, But Tough People Do" and this is what one has to be in order to survive today's hardships. Right now life is tough and just to get through the day, one has to has to be just to make it in this cut-throat world. With that into mind, I always think about Billy Joel's song "Second Wind".





The song's original theme though dealt with suicide and the video shows Joel trying to convince a broken-hearted teenager to not to jump off the bridge because of the problems he's been having. Joel then proceeds to take the distraught youth through different situations of what-could-have-beens, showing him the possibilities if he did not take his life as well as the pain it would cause to those close to him if he did. In the end, the teen realizes, he has a lot to live for and abandons his intentions, opting instead to live his life.
Although the song centered of suicide, it also dealt upon being able to cope with pressure, especially when you feel that you're entire world falls apart. When that happens, you feel that you've stripped, beaten and humiliated by the entire world. It's during these times when you find out who you are and what you're made of. I especially like what Billy's approach to the lyrics about saying that there'll be times when you look like the stumbling fool; you're mistakes are the only things that you can truly call your own; surviving those long lonely days when it seems he did not have a friend and the one I like best when he said all he needed was a little faith so he can catch his breath and face the world again. So when times are hard and I'm all alone, I think about this song and I get and go back to the fray, because I know the bad times would and when I get my second wind, I'll not only make through this wretched situation, but I'll face the world with renewed strength and wide grin because I didn't let the bad times get to me.