This song was popular many years ago when I was a teen. I am not sure where I heard it first … which doesn’t matter really. It is however part of my personal playlist, songs that are attached to personal and poignant times.
The lesson that I take from this song, is that life is learned as one goes along. If we are lucky, we might have someone that acts as a mentor and can help us learn and avoid mistakes. Sometimes that person is a parent, teacher, church leader, or neighbor. He could be a coworker or even a boss. The concept is that if we are willing to be humble and teachable, we can find mentors and enlist them to our cause. I have been able to find mentors that have helped me through tough personal times and that have helped me navigate difficult office politics. My college advisor was also a mentor, he constantly encouraged us (there were 3 of us friends) to reach for high goals, he also encouraged us to start a student organization on our campus. While we left because of another professor, the organization we put in place was strong and thriving when I last checked on it.
I have found mentors in good books and holy scripture, while they couldn’t always speak to me and offer me words of encouragement; I was able to learn from them and overcome personal and professional challenges. The dancing is life, which needs to be negotiated like a dance floor. We should be aware of our surroundings and the “lay of the land”; always “reading” those around us and working to make personal improvements. One of the hardest aspects of changing is that those we are closest to may not understand or accept our metamorphosis. In some instances that means we have to let go of that partner and move on. They may still be part of our lives (especially family) and it doesn’t mean that we have to cast them off; it may mean we have to spend less time with them until they can accept the path that we have chosen.
iron wil
