There is so much beauty in this world

There is so much beauty in this world...how much do you miss?

"Many a marketing survey has been conducted to gauge how presentation affects consumer perceptions of quality, and quite a few such surveys have found that people will frequently designate one of two identical items as being distinctly better than the other simply because it is packaged or presented more attractively. Might this same concept apply to fields outside of consumer products, such as the arts? Would, for example, people distinguish between a world-class instrumental virtuoso and an ordinary street musician if the only difference between them were the setting? These were questions tackled by Washington Post writer Gene Weingarten in 2007 when he enlisted renowned violinist Joshua Bell, a winner of the Avery Fisher Prize for outstanding achievement in classical music who regularly undertakes over 200 international engagements a year, to spend part of a morning playing incognito at the entrance to a Washington Metro station during a morning rush hour. Weingarten set up the event 'as an experiment in context, perception and priorities — as well as an unblinking assessment of public taste: In a banal setting at an inconvenient time, would beauty transcend?'

"So, on 12 January 2007, morning commuters passing through the L'Enfant Plaza Station of the subway line in Washington, D.C. were, without publicity, treated to a free mini-concert performed by violin virtuoso Joshua Bell, who played for approximately 45 minutes, performing six classical pieces during that span on his handcrafted 1713 Stradivarius violin (for which Bell reportedly paid $3.5 million). As Weingarten described the crux of the experiment:

Each passerby had a quick choice to make, one familiar to commuters in any urban area where the occasional street performer is part of the cityscape: Do you stop and listen? Do you hurry past with a blend of guilt and irritation, aware of your cupidity but annoyed by the unbidden demand on your time and your wallet? Do you throw in a buck, just to be polite? Does your decision change if he's really bad? What if he's really good? Do you have time for beauty? Shouldn't you? What's the moral mathematics of the moment?

"Three days earlier, Bell had played to a full house at Boston's Symphony Hall, where fairly good seats went for $100. But on this day he collected just $32.17 for his efforts, contributed by a mere 27 of 1,097 passing travelers. Only seven people stopped to listen, and just one of them recognized the performer.

"The Washington Post won a Pulitzer in the feature writing category for Gene Weingarten's April 2007 story about this experiment."

Read this story at Snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/bell.asp

To read Gene Weingarten's article, entitled Pearls Before Breakfast click here.

A Disconnected World

How many of your neighbors do you know? Do you spend time with them? I know the names of maybe 4 of our neighbors. If I happen to see them when I'm leaving or returning, I might say "hi". The other day one of my dogs "ran" away next door when he heard people. Drew and I went over and talked for a good 30-45 minutes with them...something that wouldn't have happened unless we were chasing our run-away dog.

How many times have you brushed someone aside or only half listened to them because you were busy? You were playing a game, reading something, or watching a TV show, and you found your attention couldn't be averted fully away from what you were doing, even for just a few minutes, in order to connect with whoever it was that was seeking your attention.

How many meals have you eaten with another person without saying more than a few sentences? How many times have you ridden in the car with others and hardly said a word? How many times have you just failed to connect to other people in your world?

I'm sorry to admit that I have been guilty of not connecting. Time and time again. There have been times I'd rather send an email or a card than have a telephone conversation. There have been times I'd rather spend time alone than take the effort and time to listen or pay attention to someone else.

We are living in one of the most technologically advanced societies of the world. We have everything we need and most everything we want. We have every convenience and comfort we could dream of. We are blessed.

But we are disconnected. We have become a society of individuals. And this is tragic.

We are designed to be connected. We were designed to be connected to God, to our earth, to God's creatures, and to each other. But somehow it's become easier for us to function without the hassle of those connections. We're all about what's convenient and comfortable. If God works in ways that are inconvenient or uncomfortable for us, we turn against Him. We blame Him for upsetting our way of doing things. We don't respect Him. If something in our earth is inconvenient or uncomfortable, we "fix" it. We find a way to ignore it, change it, or replace it so that we can be comfortable again. We don't respect our earth. If one of God's creatures has made things inconvenient or uncomfortable for us, we kill it, abuse it, neglect it, abandon it, or drive it away. We don't respect the animals. And if someone doesn't fit our agenda and our time frame, we reject him or her, and expect to be understood as being busy or stressed. If a relationship no longer suits our wants or needs, we discard it.

What are the consequences of this attitude? We are disconnected. We are depressed. We are dysfunctional. We are destroying ourselves and everything around us.

I'm not okay with this. I'm vowing to make an effort to connect and to respect everyone and everything around me. I'm not connected and I'm going to change that. God help me.

Irreverence is a spiritual gift?!?

An author by the name of Tom Beaudoin wrote a book entitled "Virtual Faith: The Irreverent Spiritual Quest of Generation X." I haven't read the book yet, but from what I've read in the reviews and quotes I've found, it seems he's pinpointed how Gen Xers question the age-old crap we've been fed that pop culture and religion are mutually exclusive. I'm evidentally not the only person out there who feels that it's not a sin to get a tattoo or spend time in a bar or hang around people who aren't "holy."

"Both society and the church teach about religious meaning through media, technology, sciences, and tradition. Young adults, as creators and receivers of that culture, often work outside the traditional box asking questions or making connections that other adults may overlook. Cynicism, irreverence, and attitude may characterize this push."

Those are the negative connotations attached to this attitude. But more open-minded individuals actually view this attitude as a spiritual gift. It's our way of testing what's true and relevant for us, here and now, not holding out for a better day once the world ends (which our elders have posited can't be long off...and they've said that for over 100 years now...maybe longer).

This attitude is a gift, "touched by God's sometimes discomforting spirit, that authentically demands a connection between the world today, the world of young adults, and the ancient tradition of the Christian faith." It is also "a prophetic gift that young adults may bring to both church and culture--exposing hypocrisy, demanding truth, and leading to acts of justice and love."

(Quotes are from Sidney D. Fowler in the Push It! Bible Quest series for young adults.)

Your Erroneous Zones

I'm beginning to realize how much my mental health status affects my spiritual life, and vice versa. When I read The Shack by Wm. Paul Young, I realized how many erroneous thoughts I had about God, Jesus, and my worth and role as a human being. The Shack really helped me put my spiritual life back into perspective and helped me let go of a lot of unseen baggage I had been carrying around about religion and God. It reminded me of how beautiful and special this world and all of creation is: including all of the people who live on earth.

I followed up reading The Shack with the book Your Erroneous Zones by Dr. Wayne Dyer. I thought it was a pretty good follow up, because it helped me further challenge my thoughts about God, others, and especially myself. I have realized there are lots of different erroneous thoughts floating around in my head that make me feel stressed out and unhappy.

The last chapter of Your Erroneous Zones is about people who have eliminated erroneous thoughts from their minds. I liked how Dr. Dyer summed it up in this sentence: People who have eliminated all erroneous zones from their lives are "too busy being to notice what their neighbors are doing." They are fully-functional without the help of others and don't have time to worry about others. A cute link a friend sent me reinforced how people who are self-actualized differ from other people. I encourage you to check it out. It's called "Sweet Taters."

giving thanks

Drew and I spent Thanksgiving in St. Louis with my family. I love Thanksgiving. This year, I spent some time really thinking about how much I have to be grateful for. And there is a LOT. I won't list all of them, but here are a few categories:

1. I am thankful for the people and animals in my life.
   
2. I am thankful for the opportunities I have to grow and improve.
   
3. I am thankful for the material blessings that have given me much comfort and pleasure over the past year.
   
4. I am thankful for my job and the chance I have had to make a difference in the lives of children on a daily basis.
   
5. I am thankful for a Creator who revels in my unique personality and accepts me and loves me for who I am.
6. I am thankful to live in a world that still has so much beauty and wonder.

I realize this blog has become somewhat of a way for me to express what I don't like. So, there are at least six things I do like to balance it out. :)

recommendation for your viewing pleasure

This week at our small group, we watched a talk by W. Paul Young, the author of The Shack. We were all really struck by his honesty, sincerity, peace, hope, love, brilliance, etc. You should check it out, even if you haven't read the book. It doesn't spoil anything about the book, but it definitely adds some perspective for those of us who have read it. If you're interested, follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gf7-vKhaTz4

This link will take you to part 4 of 12; the first three are music and a long introduction. There is still some introduction on part 4, but it's worth waiting out. Once part 4 completes, look for part 5, etc.

get real

"And don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, 'I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying, 'God be with you,' and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say 'yes' and 'no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong." (Matt. 5:33-37, Message)

How are Christians like politicians? Let me count the ways...

Some Christians are so convinced they are right and everyone else is wrong that they forget we are all human and all fall short of the grace of God.

Others are so concerned with being liked that they won't say what they believe in.

Some Christians think that because they are Christians, they have to have all the answers and have to act religious all the time; or at least when around other Christians. But that's just it -- it's just an ACT.

I love the term Eugene Peterson uses in this verse: "religious lace." I don't know how many Christians do it purposefully, but I've noticed this behavior a lot... There are Christians who pray very eloquently and who seem to say all the right things, but they seem to be missing something... that something being a calm assurance in their relationship with Christ.

This is a hard topic to write about without judging others and their walks with God. All I know is as a struggling Christian, hearing other Christians use all the right religious terms without having a true connection with God is a huge turn off. It's true what the Bible says, "In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true." I've grown up my entire life hearing religous-speak; I am thirsty for REAL people, genuine people. I don't care if they don't have all the right answers, I just want them to be honest with themselves, with God, and with me.