Blog #2

http://changethis.com/manifesto/51.01.YourHowl/pdf/51.01.YourHowl.pdf

        

        Mumon is a red wolf with no howl. Red wolves experienced a huge population drop due to their inability to howl. When the wolves were unable to howl they couldn’t fend for themselves. The wolves were unable to communicate and therefore were unable to choose a leader. Mumon is one wolf who was determined to go on an adventure to find his howl. When hunting Mumon came across a deer that was larger than him. While Mumon was chasing the deer, the deer communicated to Mumon and explained that his howl is within him and he never lost his howl, he just needed to dig deep to find it. Now ashamed for killing the deer, a raven explained he should not feel ashamed and that the deers bones have no resentment. The deers soul and inner power came out in Mumon. Mumon got a burst of energy that he had never felt before. While he was running a farmer shot him. Mumons energy and newly obtained power was absorbed by the hunter. As Mumon was brought into the fire of the dancing humans, he howled. He was not burned by the fire, he was the fire. Johathon Flaum uses this particular story to tell the reader that within you is your true power or fire. Not all of us know we have it until we can dig deep within ourselves and find it. This inner passion can come at the most unexpected times. 

“He wears his heart safety pinned to his backpack, his backpack is all that he knows. Shot down by strangers who glances can cripple, the heart and devour the soul. All alone he turns to stone, While holding his breathe after death. Terrified by what’s inside, to save his life, he crawls like a worm from a bird...” - The Used, "The Bird and the Worm"

        These lyrics come from The Used’s song, “The Bird and the Worm.” The lyrics of the song can relate to the message that Johathon Flaum tries to get across with his story about Mumon. Creativity can be seen as the passion or the fire that is trapped inside. I personally as a creative individual feel as if I have not reached my full potential as a creative mind. I have not yet been able to express all of my true creative ability. This bottled up creativity wants to be unleashed but because it’s hidden inside the person in the lyrics feels alone and distant. 

The character portrayed in The Used’s “The Bird and the Worm” doesn’t feel like his true self just like Mumon in Flaum’s short story. He must dig deep to find what’s truly inside himself because it is the only way he feels as if he can express who he truly wants to be. This lyric inspires me as a creative person because of the inner message that it conveys. The person in the song lyrics isn’t himself and people just looking at him knowing something is hidden within causes him pain. The last line, “He crawls like a worm from a bird...” can be interpreted as the inner fire or passion is finally crawling through his body and coming out. Just like Mumon in the short story. Finally in the end, Mumon’s howl is finally heard and escapes his body. A worm slowly crawling out of a dead bird symbolizes the hidden force or power inside emerging out of the body of the character. The hidden passion can be seen as life while the bird carcass can be seen as the characters past and his unwanted life before the force came out.

Many people listen to “The Bird and the Worm” and have no clue what the inner meaning is. The trick is that there is not just one hidden message. It is up to the listener to interpret what the lyrics are saying. Having a creative mind is key when it comes to dissecting the lyrics; and being able to see the many aspects of the lyrics is something that intrigues me. In conclusion, The Used’s song, “The Bird and the Worm” bring out my creativity because it makes me think about all the different deeper meanings. The song also can relate to the deeper message in the short story written by Johathon Flaum about the red wolf Mumon finding his howl.