Thoughts on Silence

Let the silence praise God-

the muffled, decibel-dampening,
"if a tree falls in the forest and

no one is there to hear it" silence...

the disconcerting, disorientating,
"harsh fluorescent lighting and
sterile waiting room" silence...

the welcome pause, rest,
"take a deep breath and
stop to appreciate beauty" silence...

the anguished, fallen sparrow,
"whole body shaking but
no sound emerges" silence...

the encroaching, stifling,
"where are you, God, and
have you abandoned me?" silence...
 

Let the silence praise God 

in watchful anticipation...

every symphony begins with silence.

 -a.k.e.

Finding Beauty in Unlikely Places

This is the view from my back window.  On most days I think it's dreadful - nothing but brick, electric fence, aluminium roof and encroaching walls. 

This morning I noticed the telephone wires.  I notice these every day (or rather, I try not to notice them!), but this morning I noticed their similarity to a musical staff.  A few birds flew and landed on the wires.  I could almost hear God whisper, "Sing the notes, Anna."  I smiled shyly.  "The wire is a musical staff, and the birds are notes?" "I give you music every day, Anna. You have only to become aware of it."  I sing the melody, which is not bad for pigeons on a wire!  I giggle with God.

I am learning to find beauty in unlikely places.  Suddenly these encroaching walls aren't so encroaching; the music opens them up to reveal a world of wonder.  The wires aren't so ugly anymore; they are a picture of the symphony that moves and swells outside my window.  I can see the music.

Abraham Heschel said, "Mankind will not perish for want of information; but only for want of appreciation... What we lack is not a will to believe but a will to wonder."  In our quest for knowledge and wisdom, may we never lose a sense of wonder and awareness of beauty... even in the unlikeliest of places.

Friday Quote

 

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily anSpartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms.”- Henry David Thoreau, Walden: Or, Life in the Woods 

I am not suggesting that we all follow in Henry David Thoreau's footsteps and live spartan lives in the woods, but I am suggesting that we be more intentional about living life, about the choices we make each day, and about enjoying the journey and not merely counting down time until the destination is reached.  I am suggesting that we develop an awareness of the beauty that is all around us, the blessings that God bestows upon us each day, and to live more in the present rather than dwell on the past or worry about the future.

A Deeper Level of Home

The other night Dan and I were on a date.  As we were leaving we ran into some friends who were also on a date.  They invited us to share a cup of coffee with them before they ordered their dinner. Two things stood out to me about this:

1. Being able to run into someone you know in a city of 1.5 million people is not an easy thing to do, especially when you're on the other side of town and you haven't lived here for very many years.  Meeting "old" friends and spontaneously going out for coffee made Pretoria feel so much more like home.  It added to our sense of belonging.

2.  Time alone with my husband is a precious commodity.  If we can get away from the kids, I don't always want to share that time with other people. The fact that our friends would invite us to join them on their date is a testament to the hospitality and generosity of the culture here.  I am still learning to put people ahead of tasks, and I am still "unlearning" much of my American-ness (which is not all bad, but there are strengths of the culture here that we wish to adopt and emulate).

It was a wonderful evening and warmed my heart tremendously.  Meeting our friends was the icing on the cake, or perhaps I should say, "Dit was die kersie op die koek."

Thoughts on Monotony

"Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged.  They always say, 'Do it again'; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again' to the sun; and every evening, 'Do it again' to the moon.  It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore."       - G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

More Thoughts on Being an Amateur

In my last post I wrote, "I realise that most of us have to earn a living, provide for families, etc., which usually takes up most of our time.  I do wonder, however, what it would be like if we pursued being an amateur at one thing..."  This makes the assumption that you don't love or aren't passionate about your occupation or providing for your family.  Bad assumption!

I thought about deleting the post but decided against it, just to show that I sometimes (though less often than I'd like) catch my mistakes.  It does seem, though, that for many people, what they do for a living isn't something they really enjoy; it's just "their job".  I know that for some, life circumstances have happened in such a way that it wasn't possible to pursue certain dreams... but what about now?

I don't want to reach the end of my life, look back, and have a million regrets. I want to use whatever gifts or skills I have, pursue that about which I'm passionate, and make the most of my life - of each day.  Tomorrow is not promised.

So once again, here's to being an amateur and doing what you love... whether you get paid or not.

A Little Etymology

am•a•teur
noun. a person who engages in a pursuit, esp. a sport, on an unpaid basis.
ORIGIN late 18th cent.: from French, from Italian amatore, from Latin amator 'lover', from amare 'to love'.

In modern English we usually think of an amateur as a beginner, one who isn't "as good as" the professionals.  In its orginal meaning, however, an amateur was one who loved what they did so much that they were willing to do it for free - without pay - simply for the joy of engaging in the activity.

Is there anything about which you feel so strongly you would do it for free?  What would you do on a volunteer basis because you are that passionate about it? What engages you? I realise, of course, that most of us have to earn a living, provide for families, etc., which usually takes up most of our time.  I do wonder, however, what it would be like if we pursued being an amateur at one thing - just one thing!

Here's to being passionate about something, to pursuing an activity for the joy it brings.  I cannot think of a better way to honour God than by taking delight in a task.