Forever Young

I went to the graduation ceremony of my kids' school today, which is always a great reminder of why we send our kids to Wingra school. At this school, teachers have the luxury of really recognizing and reinforcing each child. With no scripted curriculum and no standardized tests, teachers can focus on allowing the child to blossom and following the kids' lead in terms of what they want to learn about. Who knows if they'll really be prepared for high school or college, but they are held, and that counts for a lot.

Anyway, at the ceremony the head of school read the words to the Bob Dylan song Forever Young. My god that man is a poet. It confounds me that he dismissed people's claims that he was the voice of a generation. I wish I could have these words playing in my head every day as a super long mantra:

May god bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you

May you build a ladder to the stars
and climb on every rung
and may you stay forever young

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always see the truth
And see the light surrounding you

May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
And may you stay forever young

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a firm foundation
When the winds a changin' shift

May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
and may you stay forever young

There are a lot of great stanzas there, but I think my favorite might be "May you always do for others and let others do for you." Now that I'm exploring a new relationship, I've been thinking a lot lately about giving and receiving, and how much harder it is to receive. One of the wisest women in my life said that's because we control what we give, but we give up some control when we decide to make ourselves vulnerable to receive. Ah, the control issue rears its enormous head once again...

I can't find a recording of the poet himself singing the original, but do not despair: this is quite possibly the most covered song ever -- including versions from Neil Young and the Grateful Dead, Johnny Cash, Joan Baez, and Eddie Vedder. Which is your favorite cover? I'm once again weak in the knees listening to the voice of that last one!