Rosnolia Blog

Holssi (홀시)

By

rosnolia

In a Sky full of People Only Some Want to Fly, Isn’t that Crazy?
– Alanis Morrissette and Seal

Holssi (홀시)

Have you ever heard the song “Holssi” by IU? It’s really good. It’s kinda funky, but like in an updated, current, vibey kinda way that sits in a very specific IU pocket. The video is set in L.A., and the basic metaphor of the song, from my understanding, is like the theme of the Seal-turned-Alanis Morissette song – Crazy——

In a sky full of people… only some want to fly,

Isn’t that crazy?

The opening lines of the pre-chorus in Holssi go like this, translated from Hangul:

I’m a recklessly flying

Single spore, setting out

On a different road

Fly high to bloom

The imagery here, of course, mimics that of the flight of dandelion spores that blissfully and carelessly—dare she say “recklessly”—float high into the air, carrying out their missions to plant themselves and bloom wherever they might land.

The second verse continues:

I’ll fly in the center for everyone to see

Watch your sight, better bring your sunglass

The sky above is blinding

But I’m not afraid of heights at all

I’ll fly so close to the scorching sun

And look down without a care

I’ll pick a cloud to sit on

And might as well cause a ruckus just for fun

Causing a ruckus, in the simple act of doing what it was designed to do, to fly and find where to “bloom”…?

That’s scandalous.

The outro and final verse continue:

The road ahead won’t be easy

But I won’t fuss about it

This was my choice, it always has been

The odds of it being easy are zero

I’ll leave everything I have left to you

Wish you all good luck

I’ll even bother to say goodbye

May God be with ya

This stanza kind of reminds me of what a sea turtle mom might say to her pups after she’s laid the eggs and left them to hatch in the middle of the night.

When I first learned about sea turtle hatchlings and how they are essentially left to find their own way from the moment of their first breaths, I thought that the nature of the caprice—much like the spirit of the sea presented in the character of Calypso in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End—was the pinnacle embodiment of the “predator-eat-fledgling-baby” cruelties of the world. But now, I don’t think that nature is that cruel. Misunderstood and manipulated maybe, like the Strange and, Brave New Worlds that we live in —but not inherently cruel. Nature is too beautiful to be that cruel.

My hypothesis now is that maybe the sea turtle moms are aggressively confident in the DNA and life force energy that they’ve imparted into the pups. In fact, so much so that they are perfectly comfortable galls-ily1 dumping them out into the world without supervision. Like, “Ok, Babes! Go get ’em, now! You got this! God Speed!”

And from this vantage point, why wouldn’t humans be obsessed with the lack of a visible helicopter-parent, control-oriented posture completely contrasting the obvious courage and fortitude that sea turtle moms possess?

As a human myself, I think that it takes tremendous strength to let go that soon and trust that your literal lifeblood is gonna make it out there in the Big Blue World.

Of Mice and Men and Sea Turtles and Dandelion Spores

To be certain, the constant in both of these parables is trust of the process, and in the good.

Full stop.

And the moral might be that if I do what I can to fortify myself by living my life well—the best I can— generations after me might feel spurred on to be the best spores that they can be and produce the best in humanity, then we all win. (That’s also the name of the IU album —The Winning).

That’s what my grandparents did for me, and I think I turned out okay.

I’d like to also consider these ideas in the context of biblical reference for additional perspective:

Proverbs 13:22

A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children:

and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

To me this means that there’s something in the idea of leaving legacy that implies that inheritance from a good person is generational, or at least contemplated as something bestowed to future offspring for their benefit and prosperity.

It seems like then, in the quest to follow each of our internal compasses and meet the fulfillment of our collective destinies— on the paths toward our metaphorical horizons—maybe it’s good to be like Captain Jack Sparrow who famously anchored his faith to “a couple of sea turtles.” Because, after all, future generations are riding on it.

There’s an implicit responsibility in the idea that life might be better for those who come after us if we have faith enough to create good while we are here.

Sea turtle moms and the ruckus IU dandelion flowers both possess this perspective for the hope of their lineage.

Trusting the Process Means
Trusting the Process

I have found that I am not very good at trusting the process.

Historically speaking, I have fought the process tooth and nail (what does that even mean)? And I’ve found that when I have (fought the process), I’ve become worse for the wear. Usually this is precisely because trusting the process requires me to “do” nothing. And I’m still practicing letting go of defining my merit as defined by my outputs.

So for this reason—from a pragmatic, analytical, and unspiritual perspective—I have decided that trusting the process is the only viable option because not to do so doesn’t even work. It’s like the system is rigged that way. For the benefit of enjoying what is already promised to me, without my even having to strive for it.

From this vantage point, letting go is an act of trust, which might ultimately be an act of love and reverence to the fact that something bigger, greater, and more knowing than me exists outside of my ability to protect myself (as a human aspiring to make it in the Big Blue World).

Baby sea turtle hatchlings understand this concept intuitively I would imagine.

Nature as a Model of How to Have Faith

To me, nature presents the ultimate demonstration of how faith works.

It’s embedded in principles of Universal law!

What goes up, comes down. The sun rises, the moon shines, and I don’t care if you argue that the world is flat—you can’t deny that the sun does shine.

Similarly, to inhibit a flower from blooming or frustrate the process of a seed from germinating is to go against their natural design because given the proper environments, that’s what seeds do. They grow. To go into the world galls-ily2 venturing toward destiny like a turtle hatchling or a dandelion spore is acting in faith that good things will happen in the future. Sea Turtles will grow to be the majestic creatures that they are and dandelion flowers will bloom and nurture the soil as they do.

“Sea Turtles Mate” and Plants That Grow Through the Concrete

So how do I Jedi Mind Trick myself into being more Sea-Turtle-Mom-esk in my quest to fly like a spore?

I don’t know exactly, but I have seen many a “weeds” growing through cracks in pavement on driveways, between the big blocks of sidewalk concrete, and in places where they otherwise “shouldn’t” be… I guess they just trusted that they had what it took to do it.

I think that this is what IU might have contemplated in the rebellious nature of going out and being a spore. The AUDACITY to bloom wherever you land, and the faith to trust that you will.

Matthew 17:20

“He replied, ‘Because you have so little faith.

Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed,

you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move.

Nothing will be impossible for you.’” – Matthew 17:20

Legacy in Song: Quincy Jones’ “Tomorrow”

Tomorrow produced by Quincy Jones with lead vocals by a young Tevin Campbell is another song that I think lends itself to the metaphor of this theme. The song in and of itself is, after all, a representation of the late producer’s legacy.

The main chorus of the song goes like this:

If we try, we can fly to a whole ‘nother place

All we need is belief and a smile on our face

We can go anywhere we want, any road we decide to take

And we’re never, never, never too far from tomorrow today

The song is sung by a children’s choir, and in the richness of the tiny baby-like voices, you can hear the lyrics echo like the promise of the “tomorrow”, with faith that the future is hopeful for these kiddos.

The song was written and produced in the late ’80s, so as a grown-up millennial, I feel like I am part of the legacy that this song contemplates in the dreams of the team that produced it.

I think that this hope of a better tomorrow and the boldness and audacity to proclaim its promise is the grace of a legacy left well for future generations.

Hebrews 11: 1

“Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” – Hebrews 11: 1

Hope Begins with a Seed

So what if the fulfillment of being an audacious, healthy sea turtle spore is leaning into the gallsy-ness3 left by one’s ancestors— and leaning into the courage that they evidenced in trust of the promise that we might be spurred on toward good because of their faith?

That’s what my grandfather reminded each of us, his grandchildren. He used to say, “You are me,” and he would always remind us that we are and would be the legacy of the promise of the future of the faith of his life lived well. It blessed him to see us succeed and go far in The Big Blue Wonderful World.

I guess what I’m saying is that to be anything other than the ruckus-causing spore that IU contemplates is to dishonor the faith it took for my grandfather to impart his life energy and faith in me.

And I don’t wanna do that.

I’d rather pay it forward, create more ruckus-y spores, and encourage the development of whole swaths of wildflowers.

Footnotes:

  1. I made up various non-existing outside of the context blog post variations of the word gall. ↩︎
  2. See above footnote. ↩︎
  3. See footnote 1. ↩︎

References:

(P.S. I receive no affiliate commission from these links, they are here purely for your enjoyment and reference).

Bonus Tracks

Be the spore. Plant the ruckus. Let Your legacy bloom.

  • What legacy has been entrusted to you?
  • Where are you being called to “fly high to bloom”?
  • What might it look like to trust the process—recklessly, faithfully, audaciously?

💬 I’d love to hear your responses.

Reply below, send me a message or tag me. @rosnolia.

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