We came from Caladan
A paradise world for our form of life
There existed no need on Caladan
To build a physical paradise
Or a paradise of the mind
We could see the actuality all around us
And the price we paid
Was the price men have always paid
For achieving a paradise in this life
We went soft
We lost our edge
[Chorus]
There should be a science
Of discontent
There should be a science
Of discontent
There should be a science
A paradise world for our form of life
There existed no need on Caladan
To build a physical paradise
Or a paradise of the mind
We could see the actuality all around us
And the price we paid
Was the price men have always paid
For achieving a paradise in this life
We went soft
We lost our edge
[Chorus]
There should be a science
Of discontent
There should be a science
Of discontent
There should be a science
I stand in the sacred human presence
As I do now
So should you stand some day
I pray to your presence that this be so
Let the future remain uncertain
For that is the canvas to receive our desires
Thus the human condition faces
Its perpetual tabula rasa
We possess no more than this moment
Where we dedicate ourselves continuously
To the sacred presence
We share and create
[Chorus]
We possess no more
Than this moment
As I do now
So should you stand some day
I pray to your presence that this be so
Let the future remain uncertain
For that is the canvas to receive our desires
Thus the human condition faces
Its perpetual tabula rasa
We possess no more than this moment
Where we dedicate ourselves continuously
To the sacred presence
We share and create
[Chorus]
We possess no more
Than this moment
[Chorus]
When I set out to lead humankind
Along my golden path
I promised them a lesson
Their bones would remember
When I set out to lead humankind
Along my golden path
I promised them a lesson
Their bones would remember
My golden path
My golden path
I know a profound pattern
Which humans deny with their words
Even while their actions affirm it
They say they seek security and quiet
When I set out to lead humankind
Along my golden path
I promised them a lesson
Their bones would remember
When I set out to lead humankind
Along my golden path
I promised them a lesson
Their bones would remember
My golden path
My golden path
I know a profound pattern
Which humans deny with their words
Even while their actions affirm it
They say they seek security and quiet
[Chorus]
The mystery of life
Isn't a problem to solve
But a reality to experience
The mystery of life
Isn't a problem to solve
But a reality to experience
Reality to experience
Confine yourself to observing
And you always miss the point of your own life
The object can be stated this way
Live the best life you can
Some never participate
Life happens to them
They get by on a little more
Than dumb persistence
And resist with anger or violence
The mystery of life
Isn't a problem to solve
But a reality to experience
The mystery of life
Isn't a problem to solve
But a reality to experience
Reality to experience
Confine yourself to observing
And you always miss the point of your own life
The object can be stated this way
Live the best life you can
Some never participate
Life happens to them
They get by on a little more
Than dumb persistence
And resist with anger or violence
[Chorus]
Most believe that a satisfactory future
Requires a return to an idealized past
A past which never in fact existed
Most believe that a satisfactory future
Requires a return to an idealized past
A past which never in fact existed
Only fools prefer the past
Only fools prefer the past
Memory never recaptures reality
Memory reconstructs
All reconstructions change the original
Becoming external frames of reference
That inevitably fall short
How soothing it is to forget
And how dangerous
How tempting it is to raise high walls
Most believe that a satisfactory future
Requires a return to an idealized past
A past which never in fact existed
Most believe that a satisfactory future
Requires a return to an idealized past
A past which never in fact existed
Only fools prefer the past
Only fools prefer the past
Memory never recaptures reality
Memory reconstructs
All reconstructions change the original
Becoming external frames of reference
That inevitably fall short
How soothing it is to forget
And how dangerous
How tempting it is to raise high walls