The Way I See It #193

"Let's imagine a 21st century America where families, friends and neighbors gather together at the end of each day in parks and town squares and on street corners and porches, to tell stories and jokes, to sing and dance with wild abandon! I can see and hear it now . . ."

~ Dan Zanes, musician

If I was a betting man, I'd betcha that Dan Zanes is a Christian. I mean, if you think about, in just one long sentence using a handful of words, he's described the Kingdom. He asks us to imagine what community - true community - might look like. Over all that Zanes is describing, there is a sense of rhythm; without it, his image breaks down. Seeing words like those on this particular Starbucks cup are becoming common for me, as I truly feel that God is leading me to a much-needed awareness and understanding of what it means to live my life in harmony with his plans and purposes for me.

Maybe I can do my part to usher in the community life that Dan describes if I will live out these words of Thomas Merton:

The fact remains that we are invited to forget ourselves on purpose, cast our awful solemnity to the wind and join in the general Dance.

The Way I See It #185

"A valuable lesson I've learned from making music is to never let anyone intimidate me. Every student, celebrity, CEO and math teacher in the world has experienced love, loneliness, fear and embarassment at some point. To understand this is to level an often very lopsided playing field."

~ Anna Nalick, singer-songwriter

I was sitting in the Bedford, IN Starbucks, sipping a Cinnamon Dolce Latte, as I watched my daughter Michaela and her friend Madison drinking their hot chocolates. What was so interesting to watch were their creations. They had pads of paper and began by designing clothes, and soon moved on to drawing the homes that they would live in with their families some day. Creativity was hanging heavy in the air, to be sure! Reading Anna Nalick's words led me to realize that neither of these two girls were intimidated, nor did they seem constrained in their drawing. They were "letting it fly" and to them, it was all good. No one was drawing boxes around them in an effort to constrain them. No one asked them to stay in the lines, because they were creating their own lines. My bud Guy Mundy is always pointing me back to Ralph Waldo Emerson, who speaks of a "mute music" that only some can hear. Two little girls were making music tonight, and didn't care if anyone but them heard it. It was a beautiful concert, and I was glad to have a front row seat.

But I thought a little deeper about the quote on my cup, and realized that love, loneliness, fear and embarassment are all parts of the human experience. We all share these things - and more - in common, on some level, at some time, to some degree. Nalick's consideration of this sharedness that we all experience helped her to create passionately. You can tell when people are doing that, I think. When their passions overflow, and can't be contained any longer, and manifest themselves in creativity. That is the magic of art I suppose.

I'm learning to see passionate creativity - the creativity that overflowed into Creation when God breathed - in His people. It's hard, because my first reaction is to typically not want to engage other people. But I can't be intimidated either, and must celebrate what makes them "them." And in doing so, maybe I will be making some mute music, and maybe it will be a concert played before a God who finds great joy in the fusion of the physical and the spiritual that I am becoming.

That's The Way I See It, anyway.