Just driving home this morning from dropping my daughter off at school, listening to my favorite radio station, 70s on XM. It was honestly the first time I ever listened, not just sang along, but truly “heard” the lyrics of The Logical Song by Supertramp. It’s not like it was my first time hearing the song. I always envied my girlfriend in high school, as she had an amazing Marantz stereo system in her Colorado bedroom and was always spinning the newest releases. We would hang out in her room after school listening to Led Zeppelin, Tom Petty, Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Supertramp and the like.
But today, over 30 years later, this Supertramp song touched me in a new way. I see why the song resonated with me then, but understand more why it resonates with me now. I have spent a great deal of my life wondering this same question “Won’t you please, please tell me what we’ve learned”. And now, as I work and play with the children, I see the important timeless message of allowing these children to continue to foster that “beautiful, magical” aspect of their childhood so they can continue through life “singing so happily, joyfully, playfully.”
We owe it to them to keep from squashing their wonder-filled Spirit that inspires and guides them. They are being asked to grow up way too fast. Us grown-ups make life “so sensible, logical, responsible, practical” and we often look down upon others who don’t behave in this proper grown-up fashion.
Seek balance in your own life, so your children aren’t afraid to grow up and be a part of the world we have created for them. We so desperately seek to recover these qualities that come so naturally to them. Listen… and hear what your child is teaching you. They may be trying to remind you who you are! – TF