I’m a rebel just for kicks now

The Retune Blog - 21st July 2023

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

For about ten years now whenever I get up out of a seat I make an ooh noise! Last time I went to the opticians I was told I needed new glasses because I was getting old. At taekwondo I am (thankfully) in the veterans age group. Yes, I’m getting old!

But what does it mean to get old beyond our bodies failing and feeling a bit more worn out? How much of our ageing is a learned psychological response? This idea of response and context is revealed in Portugal The Man’s Feel it Now:

I'm a rebel just for kicks, now. I been feeling it since 1966, now … Let me kick it like it's 1986, now. Might be over now, but I feel it still.

When talking about these lyrics, lead singer John Gourley commented that "It's hard to be a punk when you're thinking about your baby daughter at home.” He continued, "the verses are all about my baby daughter, but I'm out here being this rebel, messing around with people and trying to make a positive impact."

I love this idea, on one hand knowing our context and being responsible. Yet on the other, finding our ways to rebel as part of expressing our responsibility with joy and life. Gourley commented that the expression ‘I’m a rebel just for kicks’ was actually inspired by the late American comedian George Carlin. Carlin used comedy as a means of social commentary and as a means of rebelling as a truth teller.

I think this is a great example to us all. As we get older we do get more aches and pains, but there is no need for us to lose touch with our inner rebel. Indeed, embracing our rebellious streak can provide us with a fantastic means of reconnecting with our values and making a difference in the world by standing up for the things in which we believe.