Born in Duluth Minnesota, Robert Zimmerman’s life was permanently changed when he traveled 100 miles to a Buddy Holly concert. Buddy was just 22 years old. Bob was 18, sitting 6 feet away from stage. Out of the blue, Buddy looked straight into Bob’s eyes, and at that moment, history was changed.
A few days later that fateful airplane went down, forever taking Buddy Holly from us.
It was 1964. The traveling troubadour recorded his song, The Times they are a-changin. Bob changed his last name to Dylan and from his prolific pen came a long list of deeply meaningful folk songs that spoke to a generation of youth across the landscape of America.
Perhaps strange to some, Bob Dylan was the first musician in history awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for Literature in 2016. He was criticized for taking a long time to respond to this unexpected honor.
The author of the Inc Magazine article wrote,
“In these few short sentences, which took Dylan less than 30 seconds to recite, we learn an extremely valuable lesson.
Dylan could have simply sat back and basked in the glory of his great accomplishment. Instead, he used this opportunity to engage in an exercise that many of us have forgotten how to do, or at least have neglected.
So what? I’ll tell you what. The article goes on
“It has a lot to do with the world we currently live in. With email, social media, and other electronic communication, we've been conditioned to respond immediately, and we expect others to do the same. Just reacting without thinking.
It's this pressure that leads many of us to speak and react without thinking things through. Because of this, we say and do things we regret. We damage relationships. And we add a lot of unnecessary stress to ourselves.
But Dylan taught us something different:
Thoughtful responses are always better.
Thinking before speaking or acting helps us to put into words what we truly feel over time, not just the first emotion that strikes us. It keeps us from simply getting caught up in the day-to-day, going through the motions in a way that wastes time in the end. And it inspires us to stop and listen to those who disagree with our opinion, instead of getting upset or snapping back. Furthermore, focused thinking enables you to do great work.
It helps you build awareness of self, so that you don't forget where you've been, and so you know exactly where you're going.
Take your brain out of neutral.
Take time to ponder, consider, reflect. Get your face out of the face book and the tweet machine. Stop binge watching the flix on the net. Don’t participate in the dumbing down of America. Take a time out. Do your own due diligence, research. Don’t believe everything you hear or everything you’ve been told. Think!
In that ancient book, James the brother of Jesus wrote these words which still apply to you and me today:
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”
So, take a lesson from Mr. Dylan, and make it a practice to do the following:
Find a quiet place, with no interruptions, and engage in deep, concentrated thought.
Or, as he put it much more poetically:
The chance won't come again
For the wheel's still in spin
