Everyone by now knows this section of the bible and how Pete Seeger was able to turn it into one of the greatest songs of the 1960s. But I will repeat them, as they still have such relevance today.

To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.

I tend to associate these with the hopeful, changing, and conflicting times that these words were first sung. Vietnam was going on, the Empire State Plaza and SUNYA was being built, and the world changing. The Supreme Court was extending our liberties, and our world was literally being re-written around us.

Today things are different: Iraq is no Vietnam, and the struggles of civil libertarians are for fronts not even imagined in the 1960s. The plaza and SUNYA are symbols of freedom of yesteryear: today they are symbols of bureaucratic oppression. We are mired in conflict on many fronts and our world is challenged to push forwards towards tomorrow, but it is uniquely different from yesteryear.

One can listen to this song over and over and still be taken aback by the words. These words seem to justify all when done in the proper season and when done at the proper time. They are lyrics of change and lyrics of protest. They reflect freedom and hope during the troubling times that we currently live in.

Maybe if we only look for the relevance of all events in our lives, then we will understand them a little bit better. And maybe only then there will be a time to love and a time of peace. I just hope it's not too late.