The Times, They are a Changin

The Times They Are a-Changin’

The Times They Are a-Changin’ is one of Dylan's most famous songs.  Many feel that it captures the spirit of social and political upheaval that characterized the 1960s.

Dylan recalled writing the song as a deliberate attempt to create an anthem of change for the moment. In 1985, he told a writer: ""This was definitely a song with a purpose. I wanted to write a big song, with short concise verses that piled up on each other in a hypnotic way. The civil rights movement and the folk music movement were pretty close for a while and allied together at that time."  A self-conscious protest song, it is often viewed as a reflection of the generation gap and of the political divide marking American culture in the 1960s.  Dylan said, "I can't really say that adults don't understand young people any more than you can say big fishes don't understand little fishes.

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Bob Dylan

Come gather 'round, people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth savin'
And you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
The battle outside ragin'
Will soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is rapidly agin'
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is rapidly fadin'
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin'

Now let’s take a look at what is going on right now in 2020.  The Corona Virus has infected the world.  Businesses are shut down.  People have lost their jobs.  Toilet paper is in short supply and anxiety is running rampant through our country.  Our new heroes are doctors, nurses, and emergency medical personal.  The villains are the media, politicians, and the Police Departments.  No hockey, basketball, or baseball.  No new movies, television shows, or concerts.  We are confined to our homes, only allowed out to go to work or the grocery store.  We have to wear masks, use hand sanitizer and not touch our faces. 

Now some people are ok with this.  They get a chance to stay home, slow down, and bake bread.  Others, not so much.  Parents have become teachers, people who commute to work now need to figure out how to work from home, and let’s not get started on no haircuts, manicures, and lunches with friends.

Oh yes, the times they are a changing! 

But this isn’t new, this shouldn’t be a surprise.  From the beginning of time, things have changed.  Maybe we just got too used to the same ole same ole. 

We were warned in the Old Testament:

Psalm 78:1-3

My people, hear my teaching;
    listen to the words of my mouth.
² I will open my mouth with a parable;
    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
³ things we have heard and known,
    things our ancestors have told us.

Imagine being born before 1900.  No electricity, telephone, automobiles.  No shopping malls, grocery stores, or online shopping.  There was World War 1, World War 2, the Korean and Vietnam Wars.  Also the Spanish Flu, Prohibition, the Great Depression and the Polio Epidemic.  Don’t forget about all the advances in health care, including vaccines, transplants, and screenings for diseases that would have meant certain death in years past.

We have gone from hi tech cameras and video equipment to our hand-held phone to memorialize our special days.  Record players advanced to 8 Tracks, to cassettes, and CDs to online streaming and Bluetooth. Our cars can practically drive themselves and our homes have many modern conveniences that our grandparents could never have imagined in their wildest dreams. 

Yes, the times are a changing and we need to change with them.  Imagine if Jonas Salk would have hidden his vaccine for polio or if Henry Ford just threw away his drawing of his automobile.

I know it is scary and overwhelming, but if we take moment of time in our lives one day at a time we will get through it.  Jesus even told his friends:

Do Not Worry

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  Matthew 6:25 

So what can we do?

Trust.

Trust and know that there is a bigger picture than all we see right now.  We are the pieces of the puzzle that is life.  God has a plan and it’s a good one.  So trust that he will get us through this valley and whatever lies ahead of us. 

Romans 8:18

Tea Cup Meditation

Tea Cup Meditation

Hi, it’s Joyce from the YMCA of Laurel Highlands. 

Now that I am back to teaching classes I have discovered a renewed passion for my Yoga classes.  I teach 3 classes each week at different levels.  On Tuesdays I meet in the Dance Studio with some lovely ladies and lead a seated Yoga class called YogaStretch.   On Thursdays I teach Christian Yoga, which incorporates Contemporary Christian Music along with basic Yoga poses and a blessing to end our class.  Saturdays we meet outside by the pavilion for Sunshine Yoga.  Unfortunately it rained this week so we met in the Fitness Loft for our class.  Now what does all this have to do with a Tea Cup Meditation?  I’m getting to that.

This Thursday as I was sitting at my kitchen island, I poured myself a second cup of tea, green tea with honey.  I watched the steam rise from the cup and I thought how peaceful it was to watch and thought about putting that feeling into words to share with my class.  So here is my “Tea Cup Meditation” that I used to relax my class and sent them on their way home with a Black Cherry tea bag.

Prepare your teacup.  Pull out the special one in the back of your cupboard.  Put the tea bag, sugar, honey and or cream into the cup ready for the boiling water.  Pour in the water, watch the steam rise from your cup.  Feel the steam on your face as you inhale the fragrance of the tea.  Hold the cup in both hands and enjoy the warmth.  Now find a quiet place to sit and slow down.  Relax as you take your first sip.  Feel the tea on your tongue, notice the warmth as it goes down your throat into your belly.  Now pause, breathe, be at peace, take this time to know that you are loved and cared for by the Creator of the Universe.  You are special.  You are important.  You are blessed so you can be a blessing.  Take another sip and simply say, “Thank You.”

I’ll bet you didn’t know that tea is also good for your health.  Studies have found that tea helps reduce your risk for cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.  It can also encourage weight loss, lower cholesterol, and keep you alert.  Check out the article on www.webmd.com, “Types of Teas and Their Health Benefits” for more interesting facts about tea.  According to Diane L. McKay, PhD from Tuft’s University, “It’s not just about the foods; it’s about what you drink as well, that can contribute to your health.”

Now don’t just take my word for it.  Try it yourself. Have a cup of tea.  I mean it!  And try a Yoga class while you’re at it.