Be who you must, that's a a part of the plan

I'm so sorry to see Dan Fogelberg has just died. In the soundtrack of my life, Fogelberg played a big part. I can remember many nights, pining away over some unrequited love, listening to his all too familiar stories of hope and heartbreak.

I remember the first time I heard the title song from his Nether Lands album and thought wow, that is one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard.

Some people just get inside your soul and remain there. Fogelberg did that, for me. His songs were so evocative of the love and longing in my own life that it felt he was reading my thoughts to music to the rest of the world, or thoughts I hoped someone was having about me.

It's funny how a song can revive a personal era. Hearing his music today took me back to my college -- those naive, innocent days when I didn't know squat about the assassination of liberal leaders, when I didn't imagine our votes weren't being counted as cast, when all I cared about was getting a good role in the next show, even as I was beginning to realize I had a role to play in making the world a better place.

I always liked the sentiment in this song, and share this here in his honor. From "Part of the Plan":

I have these moments
All steady and strong
I'm feeling so holy and humble
The next thing I know
I’m all worried and weak
And I feel myself
Starting to crumble.

The meanings get lost
And the teachings get tossed
And you don’t know what you’re
Going to do next.
You wait for the sun
But it never quite comes
Some kind of message comes
Through to you.
Some kind of message comes through.
And it says to you

Love when you can
Cry when you have to
Be who you must
That’s a part of the plan
Await your arrival
With simple survival
And one day we’ll all understand...

Love when you can. Cry when you have to. Be who you must. That's a part of the plan.

Lyrics to live by, indeed.