Forever Young by Meatloaf

Photo by Anthony Fomin on Unsplash 

Choosing songs can be tough. They can mean so much to so many people, and there are so many to choose from. Recently, I had the privilege of choosing music for my Dad’s funeral. One of the songs I went with was Forever Young by Meatloaf. He was a big Meatloaf fan and the song’s lyrics seemed to have a great resonation with his life and the occasion.

The song’s chorus centre’s around the idea of staying forever young. That is something which really resonated with my Dad’s life, and something which I think also speaks to all of us regarding our wellbeing. 

Life pressures us to conform. To ‘grow up’. Growing up itself is not a bad thing, if it means maturing. But often the growing up which life puts on us is to conform to social norms of what it means to be a successful mature adult in a materialistic world: Bigger house; bigger car; pension plans, etc. The problem with this, is it often means us becoming more like some generic model of a successful person and buying in to a stressful model of materialistic possession rather than an authentic mature version of ourselves. 

This song offers us a remedy through a different philosophy. Maintaining the curious expectation of youth as an approach to life. It encourages us to: 

• Always do for others and let others do for you – helping others is great, but how often do we allow ourselves to be vulnerable enough to allow others to help us? 
• See the lights surrounding you – recognising the things around us which brighten our route and guide us. 
• Be courageous, stand upright and strong – not settling for a sold second hand vision of the good life, but working it out with personal authenticity.

Working these things out through intention and practice provides us with a good basis for wellbeing as it can help us to; have a strong foundation when the winds of changes shift. 

So, when I thought about this song, it made me think of my Dad and what life could be at its best. Authentic, curious, hopeful, and it encourages me to attempt to maintain an attitude in which I mature but also stay forever young. 

Need some help staying forever young at heart? Why not consider booking an appointment with the author, Dr Dave Wood? Book an appointment

Taken from the album: