It's never too late to turn the lights back on

​One of the musical heroes of my youth recently wrote a new song. He performed it at the Grammys. As a result of the attention, he seems to be gathering a second wind of sorts in his musical career.

Not that Billy Joel ever needs a second wind.

The song is called turn the lights back on. If you listen to it, it's easy to conclude that Joel is wondering out loud if it's too late for a particular romantic relationship in his life. But after listening to him talk about the song, it's clear there may be at least double meanings to the song.

If not more.

I find it interesting how the song came about. A young song writer, Freddie Wexler, whom Joel had never met, approached him about collaborating on some music. Talk about guts; hey, he doesn't know me, but I'm going to suggest to Billy Joel that he and I sit down and hammer out some music together 😮.

Well, eventually Joel went for it. Guts sometimes pay off.

Here is how this new song began. Wexler asked Joel to give him any unfinished songs he'd been working on. Since Joel had a collection of ideas and partial songs taped, some as partial as him just playing a few keys on the piano and humming along, he handed the recordings over to Wexler.

The song grew from there.

I wonder in this handing over of unfinished business if Joel didn't hand over regrets, yet, at the same time, hand over a question:

Is it too late?

Is it too late, or do I still have what it takes within me to bring light to things I'd long ago handed over to the dark?

Again, it's easy to feel this song as regrets over a failed romantic relationship. But I think I feel it more as a failed relationship with regret in general.

As we age, it's easy for the light in our life to grow dim. It's easy to start looking at life through the lens of all I left behind and not all that I still have time and capacity to do.

It's easy to begin believing magic is a gift of the past and not what reignites hope in the future.

It's easy to believe that YES is the only realistic answer when asking if it's too late to turn the lights back on.

But it is not....

As I watched the video of Billy Joel performing his new song at the Grammys, I was reminded of just how many new things I've learned this past decade.

I was reminded that, in many ways, I feel like I'm living my most fulfilling professional life ever.

I was reminded that I've never been more passionate about learning and reading and writing.

And I was reminded that at those times when I feel like I've dimmed the lights on my relationship with my boys, that the light switch is always within my reach.

And I turn it on.

No matter what meaning you take away from Joel's song, I hope the main one is that it is never too late to turn the lights back on. What ever unfinished business you have buried in the dark, you are within reach of that light switch.

You don't have to wait for someone to come along and remind you of that, but if you do, be ready to embrace their reminder.

The magic isn't lost.

It's never too late.

Turn the lights back on.