“If I could choose the life I please
Then I would be a rover,
And if the road was not for me
Then I would choose another.
Cross mountains and valleys deep
Where I would take these weary feet.
If I could choose the life I please
Then I would be a rover.” (The Boatman)
Until 2013 I had never heard of The Levellers. Sometimes a person, or a book, or a song, impacts your life with all of the bang and molten rain of a firework display. The Boatman, by The Levellers, was – for me – one such song. The impact went way beyond the idea of living the life I choose, though that was enormous enough.
“And if the road was not for me
Then I would choose another.”
The concept of trying and seeing how well an idea for living ‘fits’, was revolutionary to me. It enabled me to fail, without guilt, or a sense of waste – and that in turn allowed me to try ideas on for size, to see how well they fitted me.
Lessons learned on the back of this include:
- Life is fluid.
- Decisions are made for now, rather than forever.
- ‘Failure’ is just as much a stepping stone to a life that is your own, as ‘success’ is.
- You get to choose your life on a daily basis.
- All circumstances are open to change.
“There’s only one way of life, and that’s your own.” (One Way)
I include this page, as a small token of the gratitude I feel towards The Levellers (Mark, Jeremy, Jon, Simon and Charlie), for their work, and to Pete for the introduction.
