***Trigger Warning: this article contains sensitive topics including but not limited to sexual assault, domestic violence, and suicide.
Kesha recently released a new single "Praying" and it sends a powerful and moving message of survival despite pain we feel we can't go on from, moving on and finding forgiveness. The opening spoken word section which is about the first minute of the song is the singe. In it she says "Am I dead? Or is this one of those dreams?
Those horrible dreams that seem like they last forever? If I am alive,
why? If there is a God or whatever, something, somewhere, why have I
been abandoned by everyone and everything I've ever known? I've ever
loved? Stranded. What is the lesson? What is the point? God, give me a
sign, or I have to give up. I can't do this anymore. Please just let me
die. Being alive hurts too much." There are some things in life we face that seem so terrible that they couldn't actually happen, yet for some awful reason they do. These are the moments that seem impossible to get through, those moments where some people consider suicide, self harm, substance abuse etc. But these are the moments we still manage to push through are so much stronger because of. If we can't find a sign from God, we need to make a sign for ourselves.
In an interview with lennyletter.com, the singer gives a deeper insight to the song and what inspired it. She tells them, "I dragged myself out of bed and took my emotions to the studio and made art out of them. It's from our darkest moments that we gain the most strength." Personally I think that is the most beautiful way of looking at trauma. We know we'll grow from it, but we don't know how. We need to let our emotions inspire us and we'll grow from it because we will forgive and find peace.
The road to overcoming trauma is never easy and rarely a single path moving forward. Its easy to slip back into negative coping patterns, but you can overcome anything. Remember you have survived every single one of your worst days. And you will survive the next one and the one after that, and the one after that. It won't be overnight and it won't be easy, but you will overcome. Kesha's opening verses talks about reaching the point of acceptance and moving on from those experiences. Those moments may have left scars but they also made her a stronger person.
While it might be easy for her to spite the people that put her through hell, she has come to peace with it, and in her lyrics she hopes these people find their peace too.
Personally, my favorite part of the song are the two verses in between the first and second chorus. The listener can really relate to finally feeling proud of who they are and no longer being afraid of the monsters in their past. Despite all of the abuse from someone, she can say she's strong now, she isn't finished and the best of her is yet to come.
Kesha's latest single is truly a song of inspiration and comfort for those facing any monster in their life. The emotional lyrics combined with the powerful visuals including moments where she is trapped in a net and fighting against it, running away and fighting people in nightmarish pig masks, this music video is one that stays with you. She is an inspiration for so many people and her incredible ballad connects with the listener and we can truly hear her authentic self.
Her album Rainbow comes out August 11th and I'm so excited for it!
