Cosmic - Avenged Sevenfold - Therapist Reacts 

I mean it’s a valid read of the song. It may not be what the band had intended but bringing new lenses of analysis is a part of good criticism I think.

I love when people state their interpretations of a song like it's fact. When in reality the beauty of music is that we each have our own interpretation as well as what the bands vision and intention is. All jumbled up in a ball of delicious glory. However, in our on minds we are each the main character so our interpretation is all we know. Such a trip

tbf even the creators didn't pick up this line of thinking until they got older and experienced psychadelics. it's not easy for the human brain to throw out the idea of time and death as we know it, especially if she didn't know she was meant to go in that direction mentally. loved this reaction honestly

its a song about the creator,the person is awaking from the matrix illussion and making compromises with it still,the whole album is based on religion your own soul and the matrix system,example we love you song,the more you do the more we love you ,you are our cash cow and we love you for bringing us your milk....metaphores in writing ...its a sarcastic state of mind saying we love you ....

@@jankompos2330 annnddd it continues

Same here, but sometimes it breaks something that I thought was already fixed as well…

I know what you mean.

i feel you bru

honestly same!

And then the hourglass flips, and a new story unfolds.

I like to think of Handcock the movie with Will Smith, if you've ever seen it you know what I mean. The only two immortal people were lovers in their past lives

This album fits together. Each song tells the continuation of the previous one but overall it's simple. Existential crisis. -> Nobody = The understanding that we are NOBODY "Not important to any bigger plot" Death and Cosmic both fall under "Death" if you think about it. You end with Life Is But A Dream where it says something on the lines of "It does not matter" on the videoclip. For those thinking I made this up go check Matt's interview.

Agreed. It's an absolutely amazing experience. Love this album so much.

From ThriceTheThird: I also lost a parent a couple years ago, and the feeling still feels fresh sometimes when I think of him. I can't imagine two losses so close together. Stay strong. <3

From jbro: There aren't adequate words to reach the depths of what that must feel like; I'm so sorry for your losses. Thankful you're still here, you are loved. I too lost a parent a few years back and feel the freshness; you are not alone

From AliceBlue: Loss of people close is so hard and I truely am so sorry that you have experienced this. I agree with you that the idea that the people we love becomes a part of the nature around us is a comforting thought. Sometimes I feel like the earth sends us beautiful reminders of those people. Sometimes it’s a flower and sometimes it’s a cool breeze on a warm day.

From Micro: I'm sorry you lost your friend in such a brutal way. Words are not enough to describe how it feels when you lose someone you love to suicide. As soon as you know about it it becomes this explosion of emotions, thoughts, fears and contradictions that are utterly painful to walk through. It's hard to be left in this very life, to try to find new paths to walk on, knowing that you can still embrace life while the people you love are gone. It leaves you with all these questions, in the unknown of is okay and what isn't, how to keep up their memory alive too... feeling all of this with you, friend. Then grief has this vicious way to hit when you expect it the least, just like with this song release. Suddenly you are brought back to this unbearable distance between your friend and you, a distance that feels like adding salt on a wound over and over. But at the same time it is a way to still feel connected, to maintain a bond that has been fragilized by death. It makes sense to wish that your friend could have listened to this music, to wish that she would still be there enjoying life by your side. It's unfair when you have to keep going while composing with the absence of someone you love, and all the reminders of their absence. With grief personally, it has been so difficult to encounter those triggers just like you describe it. It feels like each trigger becomes a new learning journey for which I always need to arrive to a point of acceptance. But there's just so many of it! It's so hard to keep moving forward while a part of you feels completely stuck in the past, where people you love had stopped walking. It's like being constantly pulled out between two opposite directions. But it also feels like the only way to keep this sense of connection with them, but it also pushes you to somehow give up on the present and on future opportunities that may arise. Somehow, something that helped me was a thought my therapist had, which was to encourage me to invite the people I lost in my present life, rather than trying to meet them where they were. Which sounds very philosophical on the paper, but in practice I just decided to took time to talk to them when I was on my own. To *meet* with them for a dedicated time, and to share all new updates about my life and all the new things I wished they could know directly, as they missed out on it. It was such a heavily emotional talk, but that also felt like a powerful release. Some people would pray, other would journal... in the end what matters is what resonate with our heart, regardless of our personal beliefs. Something beautiful in knowing this song and knowing your friend, is that you would enjoy it for two. You are carrying a fire and a voice that they may not be able to share anymore, but you do. She keeps living on through you, She keeps existing and having a real presence in this world because of how she impacted you. I do hope that you can enjoy this music while remembering good moments you shared together, and who knows... maybe by sharing it with her too, in your own way and in this very present moment? Sending hugs your way. :heart:

Maybe someday you can tell her you understand everything she tried to do for you. Even if you can never take it back, even if you can’t be with her; maybe it’ll help you find peace. And who knows, maybe she’ll be happy to hear from you.

I'm so glad you were able to recover and find healing

From Cat187: Hey! Thank you for reaching out to us! We’re here for you and we’re glad you’re reaching out Being a man doesn't mean that you have to be tough all the time and it’s totally okay to feel the way you are because that's what makes us human. Everyone experiences emotions and it's important for us to acknowledge and accept those feelings! You have nothing to be worried about when it comes to expressing yourself. And I think it's amazing that music was able to move you and evoke such deep emotions! Cat 187

From fullcream: Good day. Thanks so much for reaching out to us. I don't know the song that you're talking about. However I know that the song might have touched you. I know it's not easy being a man where you have to hold it in. Where by being a man you have to control your feelings even though it's not true I mean you should be able to feel how you would like to feel. Thank you so much again for reaching out to us and telling us that this song has really touched you that my friend is very important because it shows how that it's not nice to hold or to keep your feelings or anything in general. Enjoy your 2023. Signed Cream

From eagertuna0: Hello there, Thank you for being here and for sharing with us. Feeling like we need to mask and hide how we feel is such a challenge, and it sounds like you're dealing with some instance emotions. Isolating ourselves or feeling like we can't share with others can also have the double-whammy effect of causing feelings of isolation on top of the already challenging feelings, which just adds to that pain! It really is such a challenge and I feel for you there. As Cat187 said, being a man doesn't mean that you must be tough, because you are still human! I understand, however, how social pressures can sometimes make it feel like you'd need to be more than a human by hiding these emotions, even though emotions aren't really a sign of weakness at all -- they're just part of what makes people into people. It's never easy to face those pressures! I'm glad that this song has resonated with you and hope music continues to inspire you. Wishing you all the best, Tuna

From djstarion: hey there! Thank you so much for reaching out <3 Even the biggest men don't have to be tough all the time. I mean hell, just look at Big E from WWE, he's one of the toughest and strongest men in the company, but he's openly talked about his depression and made it clear it's okay to talk about those things.

From Daisy1985: Thank you for sharing You are not alone. Everytime I read about a man have to be strong all the time makes me ill of societies. Is okay to be vulnerable yes! There is a place and time to be tough and to be vulnerable. I give up most respect for men whom able to be vulnerable and not be judge. Thank you again for sharing is okay to break down once in a blue. Lol Let no one tell u otherwise. Have a bless New years Stay bless Stay safe Is okay to CRY.. DAISY

Even if somehow we CAN start again… it won’t be as we are now. We won’t have our memories, or our identities, or our experiences. That won’t be different whether everything fades to black forever or we are reborn, or reconstituted, or whatever. Treasure what you have now. Treasure that you have a minuscule place in the cosmos. Treasure that you get to experience living.

From Riverbats: @drewsmithson9242 Thank you so much for writing this. I'm so sorry for what you've been through. Of course you're crying writing this. I'm so impressed that you had the guts to reach out and share your pain. Losing someone so close to you can seem like a part of your soul has been ripped away. I know it is with great sadness that you call her "My Ghost", but I can see that deep in the sadness you also feel her still with you somehow. I can't know how you feel. I would never try to pretend I did know, but you reached out from this pain and wanted to share your appreciation for this song's beauty and for its message. I hear you. Despite what you've gone through, your message is "life is precious so don't waste it". That's beautiful.

From DyllonKG: @drewsmithson9242 What an absolutely beautiful song - im not typically an avenged sevenfold person but this was really great to experience alongside your explanation - www.loom.com/share/f8cf441991e442e0837121f2bab5f015

From Wings: It can really seem impossible to get over a lost relationship. It sounds like you are doing all the right things anyway. I admire that you are doing productive things even while you miss her desperately. Losing a relationship triggers a grief process that is similar to the death of a loved one. The "natural order of things" is that the grief, even if it becomes an integral part of us, becomes manageable, and meaning in life and fulfillment again becomes possible. It took about three years for opposite sex interest to do anything for me except trigger my sense of loss. I absolutely never expected to be involved in another relationship. It happened anyway, 30 years ago, and were still together. Again, I'll mention that grieving is a process. Because it's a process, it has a duration, meaning that there will come a time when it no longer dominates your feelings. Connect to your own soul. Be a friend to yourself. You don't deserve to suffer.

@@HeartSupport Ok so how do I stop the “grieving” then, do I smoke crack or something

From Wings: There is no small number of people who try to manage grief by drugs alcohol or something to make them exchange grief for numbness. The problem with that is besides periods of intermittent numbness, the grief is prolonged and often intensified because with such an approach, you are grieving for the loss and also grieving for the decline in your life brought about by self-destructive patterns. Grief sucks, but it won't always be as intense as it is right now. No one has a life absent of grief. I just hope you remain kind to yourself as you process the sadness.

From Micro: Yes, it freaking sucks to grieve the loss of someone that was your significant other. It's like you're entire being is forced to walk on a path that you never asked for and certainly did not envision. To be pushed to keep up a face that feels like pure torture to your soul. Not even your worst fears would have prepared you for it, and you are surely doing what you can to survive. You put yourself out there, you focus on work, you keep following on your commitments but there's still this thought, this voice constantly running in the back of your mind and reminding you of her, of all the what ifs and what could have been... Just heart-wrenching to grieve what *could have been*, not knowing where to find some inspiration again in your present life. For what it's worth, I've been dealing with a similar type of loss/grief in my life - not a romantic relationship, but still one that feels completely unnatural/against some natural order regarding how it turned out to be. It's awful as it feels like you are just left with no choice but to endure the situation, while asking yourself how to put back the pieces of your heart together. I hope you can scream when you need it - figuratively and literally. You freaking deserve to have your voice heard. To let all this pain out as much as you need, even if it feels an exhausting repetition at times. The pain you feel, the sadness that boiled in, are overshadowing everything right now and it's hard to see beyond it. I can't tell you *when* it's going to change, but I can assure that you are going to get through it. That you have resources within to feel what needs to be felt while also not letting yourself stuck on a survival mode for the rest of your life. Grief fucking sucks - there's no other way to put it. I'm standing with you on this journey.

From NateTriesAgain: Yeah - hard to lose the people you love the most. Their presence isn't just felt, it's omni-present. You can't /not/ feel them. They were everywhere in your life. But honestly it's the little things that trigger it the most. It's the, turning over your shoulder and smiling to tell them a joke, but they're not there. It's remembering a joke you used to share together. It's walking by a restaurant you used to go to together. It's all of the little moments that accentuate the absence and remind you just how much you've lost. It's hard to carry that, to process it, when it feels like it needs to be healed a thousand layers deep. I'm sorry you lost your best friend. That is so heavy.

From tromboness: That must be really hard to not have that important person in your life. It must feel lonely when you can't see or talk to them. It's okay to miss someone that used to be in your life, and it's okay if it still affects you after a significant amount of time. I hope you can find ways to honor the times you had together. Hold Fast

From Micro: It is so painful to lose and miss someone who used to be a fundamental part of your life. Someone who's been there with you, sharing good and rough times, someone you trust, love and care for. I'm sorry if losing your best friend has been something you've been experiencing personally. When you lose someone so close to you, it feels as if the ground under your feet just disappeared. You try your best to anchor yourself, find something to hold on to, find a way to move forward without being swallowed by the emptiness... Just so hard to miss someone who was anchoring you into what life has good to offer. I don't know the circumstances behind this of course, but I do hope that you manage to take care of yourself and be kind to yourself while you potentially navigate the hurdles of grief. For what it's worth, many people out there, including me, can understand how it feels to be wounded by loss and being forced to process the loneliness it creates. When I think about people who were an anchor to me but are not here anymore, it's generally hard to remind myself that these people are still present somehow. But they do, *because* I had the chance to know them, and because I have stories to tell to the world about how much of a beautiful impact these people had on me. Somehow, we keep on relaying the voices of the ones we lost. We keep on embodying the things we've learned with them or thanks to them. Regardless of the circumstances behind the loss, there is a legacy to carry on and to make our own - through who we are, through what we do and say, through each time we intentionally decide to take care of ourselves. This world can be brutal and relationships are filled with painful experiences. I'm proud of you for standing still and for opening up today.

LOL

or on acid/mushrooms. pretty sure you were :P

It's just about feeling the song, and everyone's reaction is going to be different! In a concert you're going to see people standing still while the music gets intense, or people dancing around when it's chill. What matters is to have a good experience of the music, regardless of how it's expressed❤

Who says things like this 😭

​@@LowdenFTWdruggies, usually

From NateTriesAgain: Yeah - it's hard when your mental health is lower than you'd want, or need, or hope for. It weighs everything else down. Honestly I notice that when my mental health is bad, it brings a kind of "tunnel vision" filter over my life. I stop noticing the things I love or enjoy. I only see the things I want to change, that I don't like, that I wish I had but I don't, etc. It makes me feel miserable. And sometimes even when I see that I'm in that kind of "gear", I feel stuck, like I can't shift out of it. And the mindset only makes the feelings worse, lol. It's a negative spiral. I'm sorry you're in that spot - it's really hard when you're there to feel hope that things will get better / that you'll get out of it. I actually have a friend who I admire for this. When he hits a spot of depression, he's been there so many times before, he tells himself, "I know this will end. It'll be here for a couple of days, and then I'll bounce back." There's something about that that makes him not feel as "panicked" or ashamed while he's in the middle of it. Another mentor of mine talks about how we're all "seasonal". And that some seasons we're like a field that's "fallow" - or basically, after the crops have been harvested and before they get prepped for the next season. They're dormant. And sometimes life can feel like that. Naming it as "seasonal" for me has been hugely helpful. I'm just now re-emerging out of a "fallow" season myself, and most of the time I berate myself when I'm there, but having that mindset of - this will end, this is a season - has helped me lessen the shame I experience and just be patient with myself as it passes. Hope things take an upswing for you, and I appreciate you sharing.