There's an unlabeled up/down button in this elevator, and I have this feeling it's a metaphor for life

i'd like to give a thank you to everyone who's ever spat in my face
or pushed me down into the mud
and i'd like to welcome every moment that's made me want to change the past
or erase it all outright

you've all made me the person that i am
so every threatening knife was held in an open hand
and all the sadness in the world has made me the happiest man in the land

i'm just trying to make sense out of all this
trying to turn a reversal of fortune into a reason for happiness
and be the way i wanted to be when i had first packed my bags and set out on this journey