ubiquitous

more or less all of maynard's lyrics seem to be about the struggle we all have inside of ourselves. self vs. self struggle

amost everyone has tried to relate the lyrics of this song to his family or son but that seems like too much of a random guess to me.


have you ever been completely dead inside, maybe struggled with suicide or been through a situation in life where your head seems to be in the middle of a hurricane? feelings of guilt running rampant to the point where you feel hopeless and immensely weak? almost all of tool's songs push this same theme over and over and over to me. I can't be the only one who see's this. some people live everyday like this, and we have all experienced it from mild to strong degrees. I believe very intense episodes of these feelings are the cause of suicide, anxiety, and depression. maynard is trying to either convey his struggles with this and/or help those who struggle with these situations

here are some examples-


A groan of tedium escapes me,
Startling the fearful.
Is this a test? It has to be,
Otherwise I can't go on.
Draining patience, drain vitality.
This paranoid, paralyzed vampire act's a little old.

feelings of inadequacy/insecurity?????????? a little too obviouse for me to deny

I know the pieces fit cuz I watched them fall away
Mildewed and smoldering. Fundamental differing.
Pure intention juxtaposed will set two lovers souls in motion
Disintegrating as it goes testing our communication
The light that fueled our fire then has burned a hole between us so
We cannot see to reach an end crippling our communication.

still inadequacy, but this is where the light at the end of the tunnle begins to show. even thought there are feelings of inadequacy, there is hope because "i know the pieces fit, because I watched them fall away". don't feel guilty= no fault, none to blame.

So familiar and overwhelmingly warm
This one, this form I hold now.
Embracing you, this reality here,
This one, this form I hold now, so
Wide eyed and hopeful.
Wide eyed and hopefully wild.

We barely remember what came before this precious moment,
Choosing to be here right now. Hold on, stay inside...
This body holding me, reminding me that I am not alone in
This body makes me feel eternal. All this pain is an illusion.


now we are starting to feel comfortable and confident finally, no longer living in a regretfull past but instead embracing the moment. finding comfort in one's self

This body. This body holding me. Be my reminder here that I am not alone in
This body, this body holding me, feeling eternal
All this pain is an illusion.

this body holding me-----quite literally our body is holding us in this moment. breathing, looking, listening, embracing, and experiencing the moment instead of letting the doubts/painful thoughts/ negative feelings overwhelm us and taking us out of the moment. -------pain is an illusion----we manifest our own guilt and pain

Black then white are all I see in my infancy.
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see.


our horizon is expanding, we have left our guilt ridden box and can now more than just black/white or right/wrong that the narcicist/judgemental person only sees.

Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.

when you worry, it can take you out of the moment and distort your perception, disassociates you from yourself and discomfort is felt. people are not born with more brains than others, those who know how to take care of themselves will have a healthier mind that then acts and functions better making these people seem smarter

I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected
enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired, to fathom the power,
to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
of our divinity and still be a human.

now instead of being controlled by our doubts, and seeing life as a burden, we now except life as a gift of something beautiful and are beginning to feel complete in ourselves and our lives

IMO all of these excerpts from lateralus is telling a story of a weak fragile person becoming healthy and content in themselves and their lives. it seems tooo obviouse to be anything else.

basically going from a negative state of mind to a positive state of mind. you would be surprised to see how many people live in their own personal hell, and it weakens them and causes them to fail at simple tasks that a more positive happy person will easily succeed.

please share your oppinions, aggreeing or opposing........they are all welcome