Have you ever felt the strange, haunting weight of a lifetime—or perhaps, many lifetimes? This week’s featured track is a breathtakingly beautiful meditation on the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. With a melody that feels like a gentle, weary sigh, it gives voice to the soul-deep fatigue of “walking in circles, wandering endlessly, life after life.”

The song masterfully uses the metaphor of “drawings in the sand” to illustrate the impermanent, fleeting nature of our identities, conflicts, and attachments. We “build our world, then wave goodbye,” clinging to temporary stories that are inevitably “washed by the tide.” Yet, within this poignant truth lies its profound wisdom: if we are all just temporary sketches, then the hatred and divisions we cling to are equally illusory.

This is not a song of despair, but one of profound compassion and remembrance. It’s a call to “stop the hate, look deep and stand,” to recognize the shared family that exists beneath the surface of our assigned roles. For anyone who has ever felt the echo of a forgotten connection, this track is a gentle, healing balm for the soul, reminding us that we are all artists on a shared shore, with the chance to “sketch out a new glance” with love as our canvas.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]

It’s tiring, walking in circles,

Wandering endlessly, life after life,

We’ve worn every face, played every role,

From mother to stranger, from lover to foe.

The weight of the world feels heavy, I know,

As we search for the truth in the shadows of woe.

[Verse 2]

We keep on fighting, forgetting what’s true,

That we were once family — me and you,

Fooled by the stories this lifetime has planned,

But they’re only drawings in the sand.

Maybe we’re lost in the waves of the past,

Yearning for love, for a bond that can last.

[Chorus]

Drawings in sand, washed by the tide,

We build our world, then wave goodbye.

Clinging to dreams we don’t understand,

Hurting each other with trembling hands.

Stop the hate, look deep and stand—

We are nothing but drawings in sand.

[Verse 3]

Enemy to friend, friend into foe,

Over and over, around we go.

We cry and we laugh, then do it again,

Forgetting we’ve all been more than just “them.”

The lines are blurred, but our hearts have a plan,

To find that connection that leads us to mend.

[Chorus]

Drawings in sand, washed by the tide,

We build our world, then wave goodbye.

Clinging to dreams we don’t understand,

Hurting each other with trembling hands.

Stop the hate, look deep and stand—

We are nothing but drawings in sand.

[Bridge]

What if we saw beyond colors and names?

Dissolving the norms, breaking free from the chains.

In the tapestry woven, we’re threads of the same,

Can we learn to remember our true essence and aims?

Let’s hold onto light, as we drift through this sea,

Embrace every moment in our shared humanity.

[Chorus]

Drawings in sand, washed by the tide,

We build our world, then wave goodbye.

Clinging to dreams we don’t understand,

Hurting each other with trembling hands.

Stop the hate, look deep and stand—

We are nothing but drawings in sand.

[Outro]

So let’s become artists, sketch out a new glance,

With love as our canvas, we’ll rewrite this dance.

Every day’s a chance, let’s create and expand,

Together we go, hand in hand on this land.

For we’re nothing…

To access the song, click on My Buddhist Songs.

May all be well and happy.