Friday, April 26, 2013
Little Feathers: Warning...theology/theosohpy/theothinking mentione...
Little Feathers: Warning...theology/theosohpy/theothinking mentione...: There are so many silly, limiting, arbitrary rules in our society. I feel free to disregard them. Like traditions, they are only good if the...
Warning...theology/theosohpy/theothinking mentioned
There are so many silly, limiting, arbitrary rules in our society. I feel free to disregard them. Like traditions, they are only good if they continue to serve people, rather than vice versa. Like fashion rules...many seasons go by when the clothes that are in style look goofy on me. So I'll pass. Or unspoken hierarchical rules...that some people are worth more respect because they are famous or beautiful or rich. Silly.
Then there are rules that protect us from ourselves. I've been thinking about the 1st commandment...the one about having no other gods than God. When I was young this one bothered me. I thought that if we were serving a jealous God, we were not serving a perfect being, one who was above petty human emotions. I remember being relieved when I read what Luther said about that commandment: whatever we hang our trust and hope on becomes our god. And there are no temporal things, not money or power or fame or beauty, that will bear the weight of our ultimate trust (total paraphrase; no quotes but only good intention).
If you have ever struggled with addiction, or even a firmly entrenched habit, you can see how hollow the promise of solace from that behavior truly is. There is not enough alcohol or drugs or food or work or exercise or gambling or shopping to keep us safe from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (OK, a little quoting...thanks William). And because God knows this, and God knows that human beings will seek solace somewhere, God made a really good rule. One that makes sense, one that protects. It doesn't protect God from anything because God does not need protection from humans. Rather, it seeks to remind us that there is an eternal good, a happy ending, a balm for the grieving soul that never, never forsakes us.
We humans seek God in many ways, in many places and through many stages of belief and unbelief. I am grateful that we are given that freedom. I am grateful that no one can prove that their interpretation is the only one. Lots of people think they can, but they cannot prove anything. Ultimately we all seek the face of God in our own private longing, on our own journey to stand in the presence of Love. We support each other, gather with others who believe as we do. We try hard to be the earthly hands and feet and heart of God, to serve one another in love. When we remember that none of the man-made rules or behaviors will bear up under the weight of our souls, then we can be set free from the mind-numbing race to be good enough. To be enough anything.
Then there are rules that protect us from ourselves. I've been thinking about the 1st commandment...the one about having no other gods than God. When I was young this one bothered me. I thought that if we were serving a jealous God, we were not serving a perfect being, one who was above petty human emotions. I remember being relieved when I read what Luther said about that commandment: whatever we hang our trust and hope on becomes our god. And there are no temporal things, not money or power or fame or beauty, that will bear the weight of our ultimate trust (total paraphrase; no quotes but only good intention).
If you have ever struggled with addiction, or even a firmly entrenched habit, you can see how hollow the promise of solace from that behavior truly is. There is not enough alcohol or drugs or food or work or exercise or gambling or shopping to keep us safe from the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune (OK, a little quoting...thanks William). And because God knows this, and God knows that human beings will seek solace somewhere, God made a really good rule. One that makes sense, one that protects. It doesn't protect God from anything because God does not need protection from humans. Rather, it seeks to remind us that there is an eternal good, a happy ending, a balm for the grieving soul that never, never forsakes us.
We humans seek God in many ways, in many places and through many stages of belief and unbelief. I am grateful that we are given that freedom. I am grateful that no one can prove that their interpretation is the only one. Lots of people think they can, but they cannot prove anything. Ultimately we all seek the face of God in our own private longing, on our own journey to stand in the presence of Love. We support each other, gather with others who believe as we do. We try hard to be the earthly hands and feet and heart of God, to serve one another in love. When we remember that none of the man-made rules or behaviors will bear up under the weight of our souls, then we can be set free from the mind-numbing race to be good enough. To be enough anything.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Little Feathers: The Denouement
Little Feathers: The Denouement: I only learned this word, denouement, a couple of years ago. And it is a great word. In a novel, the denouement is the tying together of al...
The Denouement
I only learned this word, denouement, a couple of years ago. And it is a great word.
In a novel, the denouement is the tying together of all plot aspects; the solving, the resolving of the intricate thing that is a story.
I have been re-reading some novels by Elizabeth Peters because, even though she is writing in a different genre than I am, I am astounded at her ability to create an ending. About 50 pages or so from the end, this writer begins to gather up her details. If you imagine that you have been floating down the wide river of story, Peters comes to a point where she begins narrowing the banks of the river. The story flows faster and faster until I am breathlessly turning the pages because I have to get to the end. I am compelled.
I want so badly to be able to craft a satisfying denouement. I want the novel Sally Nava and I are writing to have a real ending with an honest denouement. Well, you say,that makes sense. Who wouldn't want to write a great ending?
Just now, just a minute or two ago, I got a glimpse of another kind of denouement. My own. I have long been trying to figure out why life goes by faster the older you get. It would seem that it would pass more slowly as we have more time, less of a hectic life. But every year goes by more quickly. And I think I finally get why.
We have all been living this story, this interweaving of relationships and details, events and lessons learned. We have been given insight into what is really important, what is worth living for. So perhaps, a few years out from the end, we can't help but be swept along in the ever-swifter resolution of the story that is our lives. My story. My loves, my hopes, my dreams, my lessons learned. I notice that I long for clarity, for peace and for resolution. It is not that the mind gets more narrow; if anything the narrowing is the awareness of the temporal nature of life. We were never promised long life. Only this day.
I feel an urgency to finish some things. Not morbid, not fearful, not depressed. Just purposeful. I want published books. I want them out there. If I live another 30 years and write another 30 books, great. I am taking the chance now, putting them out there. So that my denouement has more denouement.
In a novel, the denouement is the tying together of all plot aspects; the solving, the resolving of the intricate thing that is a story.
I have been re-reading some novels by Elizabeth Peters because, even though she is writing in a different genre than I am, I am astounded at her ability to create an ending. About 50 pages or so from the end, this writer begins to gather up her details. If you imagine that you have been floating down the wide river of story, Peters comes to a point where she begins narrowing the banks of the river. The story flows faster and faster until I am breathlessly turning the pages because I have to get to the end. I am compelled.
I want so badly to be able to craft a satisfying denouement. I want the novel Sally Nava and I are writing to have a real ending with an honest denouement. Well, you say,that makes sense. Who wouldn't want to write a great ending?
Just now, just a minute or two ago, I got a glimpse of another kind of denouement. My own. I have long been trying to figure out why life goes by faster the older you get. It would seem that it would pass more slowly as we have more time, less of a hectic life. But every year goes by more quickly. And I think I finally get why.
We have all been living this story, this interweaving of relationships and details, events and lessons learned. We have been given insight into what is really important, what is worth living for. So perhaps, a few years out from the end, we can't help but be swept along in the ever-swifter resolution of the story that is our lives. My story. My loves, my hopes, my dreams, my lessons learned. I notice that I long for clarity, for peace and for resolution. It is not that the mind gets more narrow; if anything the narrowing is the awareness of the temporal nature of life. We were never promised long life. Only this day.
I feel an urgency to finish some things. Not morbid, not fearful, not depressed. Just purposeful. I want published books. I want them out there. If I live another 30 years and write another 30 books, great. I am taking the chance now, putting them out there. So that my denouement has more denouement.
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