[Wise Words] - Homeboy Sandman

by J D May 17, 2017

Now to take Wise Words on a complete turn from 1940s esoteric thought, we'll pivot to some bars from Stone's Throw rapper, Homeboy Sandman....

"It cannot be any better, it cannot be any worse
It can only be the way it is, that's the way it works" 

 

Having the background of being a Queens native, Ivy Leaguer, and public school teacher, Homeboy Sandman has a brilliant and eclectic mind that shines through his raps. This Wise Words quote is from the song 'Perspective' on which he is featured and drops 'silver linings bars' about the balance of the universe and keeping your perspective of things centered.

So with this quote, "It cannot be any better" by itself might sound like a pretty adverse outlook on things, but balanced by "It cannot be any worse" in the following line things become a bit more clear. Here Homeboy is tapping into some Eastern wisdom that defines everything as having polarity, or two ends to one stick as Alan Watts would put it. And with this thinking in place, if some things in life were better, then by definition other things would be worse (see: yin and yang, philosophy of dualism). 

Also in the verse he spits...

"I know that there are tyrants that are tireless
But son, don't even mind em, they're just the minus
There are pluses in abundance, life is wondrous"

... where you can further get an idea of how good and evil are and always will be present, as the world is full of the minus and plus. But in the end it's all up to us to view the things in a positive light and only see the good. In a simple manner, this is very much so the lifelong quest of many Eastern religions as the path to enlightenment. 

 Check the full track below, (Homeboy's verse starts at 2:20). Also, full song lyrics here.

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