I Want to be Bob Dylan
I am from the Minnesota Iron Range, an area rich with iron ore and its black sheep cousin taconite. You may know a few of the area’s notables: Judy Garland, the Boston Celtic’s “sixth man” Kevin McHale, the 1980 USA Olympic hockey team’s Conehead line, and Bob Zimmerman. I hear you, “Judy Garland – sure. Bob Zimmerman – huh?”
In No Direction Home, Bob says that he left home the day after high school graduation – “… I’d gone as far as a could in that particular environment…” Kind of harsh don’t you think?
He changed his name to Bob Dylan and the rest is history. Wikipedia summarizes Bob Dylan as
Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture for more than 50 years. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s, when songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" (1963) and "The Times They Are a-Changin'" (1964) became anthems for the civil rights and anti-war movements. His lyrics during this period incorporated a range of political, social, philosophical, and literary influences, defying pop music conventions and appealing to the burgeoning counterculture. … In 2016, Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature "for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition"
While I have always enjoyed his music and his performing style, it is his life philosophy that I appreciate the most.
Be and Stay Young
During an acceptance speech on Dec 1963, Bob turns the tables on the audience of “old people” in saying (with my bold), “I want to thank you for the Tom Paine award in behalf everybody that went down to Cuba. First of all because they're all young… … and it's took me a long time to get young and now I consider myself young. And I'm proud of it. I'm proud that I'm young.”
Reminds me of the words of Jesus, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Non-Conforming
In No Direction Home, Bob Dylan says, “I came in as an outsider. They tried to make me an insider. I don’t think so.” He lives as he wants. He has stated some pearls (bold added):
May you grow up to be righteous, may you grow up to be true. May you always know the truth and see the lights surrounding you. May you always be courageous, stand upright and be strong. May you stay forever young.
People seldom do what they believe in. They do what is convenient, then repent.
What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.
All the money you made will never buy back your soul.
I've never been able to understand the seriousness of it all, the seriousness of pride. People talk, act, live as if they're never going to die. And what do they leave behind? Nothing. Nothing but a mask.
Progressing – Becoming - Growing
In No Direction Home, he discusses success and says, “We never really arrive… …We are in a constant state of becoming.”
In It’s Alright, Ma, Dylan encourages us to try new things:
…From the fool’s gold mouthpiece the hollow horn
Plays wasted words, proves to warn
That he not busy being born is busy dying…
…So don’t fear if you hear
A foreign sound to your ear
It’s alright, Ma
My Dylan life message: If you want to keep your memories, you first have to live them.
In the spirit of Bob Dylan, I want to have the courage to express my thoughts and ideas. I want to risk being creative. I want to DARE to live the life I’m meant to live. In a Dylan-esque way, I commit to living young in a non-conforming, progressing way.
I want to journey with you and in the words of Bob Dylan in All I Really Want to Do
I ain’t lookin’ to compete with you
Beat or cheat or mistreat you
Simplify you, classify you
Deny, defy or crucify you
All I really want to do
Is, baby, be friends with you