A Quest to Greatness toward that One Moment in Time - Essay Example

A Quest to Greatness toward that “One Moment in Time” "One Moment In Time" was a song popularized by Whitney Houston. This song was part of the albumthat was released for the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea, and written by Albert Hammond and John Bettis (Songfacts.com). The song appeared in NBCs sports coverage of the 1988 Olympics, alongside songs from other artists such as The Four Tops, The Bee Gees, Eric Carmen, and John William (NationMaster.com). The song was rendered by Whitney Houstons large, powerful voice in a soulful fashion. “One Moment in Time” belonged to the genre of the popular songs, which was sung in ballad with prose-like lyrics. This was the same song that Whitney Houston had performed live in the 1989 Grammy Awards where she won the award for the “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.” This song also topped charts in the US, UK, Australia, Germany and Switzerland for several consecutive weeks (NationMaster.com). The song "One Moment in Time" had aroused in me some sort of vigor after hearing it. I wondered, would everyone who had heard it so intently for the first time, had felt the same way as I did? Hearing it made me contemplate and thought about certain things about myself: have I reached my fullest potential yet? Am I already free--free from the notion of having been a victim of my fate? Can I say that I am a free person, a person who controls her own destiny? Then I thought, like every person in this world, I too should have that one moment in time when I am more than I thought I could be; I would have my one moment in time, and I should seize it. The moment I listened to the opening lines of the song, I knew it was the starting point of those who would look toward their quest to greatness. As the persona in the song sang the lines "Each day I live I want to be/ a day to give the best of me," I thought, in order for a person to live so enthusiastically each day of her life, it must be rooted in a single, ultimate purpose which had both driven the will to live and the will to succeed. Knowing a persons ultimate purpose for living would propel her to give her best each day in pursuit of such goal, and then, I knew that single purpose would be the start of everything for a person. Because of this singleness of purpose, the persona was driven to reach her ultimate goal, although the future seems uncertain. This was apparent in the lines "Im only one, but not alone/ My finest day is yet unknown." In reaching for ones goal, the persona knew that there would be obstacles to face, and that everything required trade off on her part--there was nothing like "nothing for something." As these lines expressed, "I broke my heart for every gain/ To taste the sweet, I faced the pain/ I rise and fall/ Yet through it all this much remains," the personas perseverance was very apparent. Despite the hardships and pains, when she had an ultimate goal to aim for, she would continue to fight and give her best. In the chorus, that "one moment in time" was described as the moment "When all of my dreams/ Are a heart beat away/ And the answers are all up to me". According to the persona, that “one moment in time” was when she was “more than she thought she could be.” I could not help but remember Nietzsche’s notion of the superman. According to Nietzsche, in his book Thus Spake Zarathustra, the Superman was a state of man that would surpass the capabilities of man; superman, hence realizing man’s full potential to live without Gods. Listening to the song brought me back to thinking about the notion that was imposed on us as humans—our lives controlled by fate; having our destinies pre-determined before we were born and we were too powerless to change it. This religious or philosophical notion was refuted in the second half of the chorus. With the lines “Give me one moment in time/ When Im racing with destiny/ Then in that one moment of time/ I will feel, I will feel eternity,” I thought as the persona wished to win over her destiny, all she wanted was to have full control of her life, and thus her eternity. The third stanza contained the following lines “Ive lived to be the very best/ I want it all, no time for less/ Ive laid the plans/ Now lay the chance here in my hands.” In this stanza, the persona’s resolution to achieving what she wanted was already very strong. In this stanza, my original theory about the persona’s wish to put her life in her hand became more apparent to me. The persona declared that in order for one to conquer one’s destiny, she had to put her life’s responsibility on her hand, become the best that she could be, and create plans to fulfill her own destiny. According to the song, when one “would seize that one moment in time, she would be a winner for a lifetime.” Such “one moment in time” would be the point when the person had reached her full potential. As she conquered herself, all her limitations, all the things that restrained her—she knew she could very well handle life and put her own destiny in her hands. “And in that one moment of time/ I will be, I will be free” were the last lines of the song, which I perceived as the persona’s moment of release from that notion that had imprisoned us humans for quite long. By becoming the best person that she could, she would conquer her destiny; free from the notion of being controlled by fate, and settling for something less. This song had left me a sense of vigor. Its message was clear: I should know what I wanted, and I should know how to get it. I should not settle for anything less; that I too had to reach my own greatness, and live each day in order to better myself and surpass my potentials. As I came to think of it, this song might have influenced and inspired so many people, in spreading that ‘winning’ philosophy—not to leave things to chance or fate, but make things happen. It somehow reminded me of William Earnest Henley’s poem, Invictus, which last lines were “I am the master of my fate/ I am the captain of my soul.” Every person would have the ability to influence and alter the course of her destiny should she give all her dedication to becoming the best in her craft in order to get her ultimate purpose in life, thus take charge and responsibility of her life. As our culture progressed to seeing more and more winners in their respective fields, I could not help but wonder the contribution of this song to the lives of the many people who had heard it too. With Whitney Houston’s powerful vocal prowess, her soulful rendition of the song had given many people a sense of inspiration and encouragement to fulfill their dreams, that ultimate purpose of their living. It was a song for winners—athletes and non-athletes alike. Reference Bettis, John & Hammond Albert (1988). “One Moment in Time.” Performed by Whitney Houston. Arista Records, 3min. [Video: Internet] Available from [Accessed February 2, 2009] Bibliography Henley, William E. (1909). Rhymes and Rhythms. Portland: Thomas B. Mosher. NationMaster.com (2009). “One Moment in Time.” NationMaster.com. Retrieved on 2009 January 24 from http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia/One-Moment-in-Time Nietzsche, Friedrich (2006). Thus Spake Zarathustra. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. SongFacts.com (2009). “One Moment in Time.” SongFacts.com. Retrieved on 2009 January 24 from http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=12450 Read More