on the values of hard work and simple pleasures (draft)

Have you ever been going about life's business about being busy and suddenly, for no apparent reason the sky on your mind clears...and you slow down. Later you may realize it happened after a kind word from a loved one, a certain wonderful smell from the kitchen oven, or passing by a picturesque view of miles and miles of open prairie. It's so serene and beautiful in color as it cradles the setting of the sun. And you swear that God set you right there in that moment to experience it..that he packaged that moment just for you to get your mind back on track and your spirits back up and your body going again. Or maybe it wasn't an event, per se, that brought you out of your singular way of doing things. Maybe it was just silence. The calming effect of nothing...the presence of a lack of sound. It can be soothing at times.

I gotta say...I don't get those moments often. But when I do, I think they're the best thing ever! A moment like that can make my day, easily.

I think it's our ability to join in the wonder of the universe that makes this human race so unique. So wonderfully odd, compared to other living, physical, and breathing earthly things. And it is our ability to process our experiences and extrapolate meaning from the moments of our lives that makes us really special. just sit for a few seconds becoming aware of your thoughts as they pass between your ears...and begin to collect them, one by one...

Know you have just created something. That thought. Merges with a feeling...and a memory is born. Truly, a miracle. What else could one man ever need than to be the master of all earthly things...to be able to name the animals and roam the wild? Man...how far have we gotten from that? Something deep inside of me yearns for that time in mankind's ancestry. And I don't want to sound blasphemous here. I'm not talking about being God. On the contrary, I believe mankind was created in God's image. He is indeed special. And glorious...far beyond the glory that our culture praises. And so, sometimes I wanna stop shaving for the rest of my life...throw away my work shoes and leave my dress pants on the side of the street for anyone to steal. And just walk. Man....just walk. And other times, I just wanna be a part of natures food chain. I want to get back to the roots of our nature, back before all this technology offered more and more chances of distraction and a false sense of connectedness. Sometimes I just wanna leave. And pitch a tent...build a log cabin. In the middle of no where. And be one with nature. To experience the wonders of what that sort of life could bring.

Maybe that is why I like Ralph Emerson's writing so much. That's also probably why I studied him in school with the obsessiveness and attention to detail that I did. Of course, I was much younger then than I am now. And even though I don't claim to have experienced much more of life than I had ten years ago, I hopefully am more sober minded and less likely to reduce a person to what is said about them and the quality and intellect of their writing like I did in college.
"Live in the sun, swim the sea, drink the wild air," he says. Man...to have the chance to meet the man who wrote those lines...but to know what it means to experience something as natural and honest as that...there. that's it. That's what I mean.

Bob Dylan once said "To live outside the law you must be honest." And I certainly don't want to suggest that all life's problems can be resolved simply by running away from them. I don't want to get caught up in that. I also don't want to have you assume I'm saying getting back to nature makes man a good thing and cleanses him from every evil that has collapsed around him. There are, however, certain nature verses nurture groups that would love to get into that conversation. And I'll leave it to them to entertain that possibility. I think it's a waste of time, though. Mankind, by his nature, we see in scripture as prone to wander. David, a man after God's own heart, the picture of purity, let his manhood wander into places God never intended it to go. And so, we have that. Mankind loves sin like a fish loves water. Getting him back to nature does nothing to restore his relationship with God.

And so, you have the greater problem of man at play. At any time, he is capable of doing great and wondrous things. On the other hand, he is also capable of great atrocities. Some intellectuals and theologians call it the duality in man. Most of the world's religions agree on that one fact.

But I'm not really hear to talk about that. I'm simply saying that a more complicated life leads to a more complicated sense of yourself. And maybe we weren't created to really have so many sources of input that effect our sense of self. Too much input and the processor heats up and the system crashes.

But back to growing up. And so as I age, one thing that is most different now is my perspective on things. It's funny how moving from one phase of life to another ages the soul a bit. And I don't necessarily mean "tires" it out. But "ages" as in wine "ages." It grows. Nurtures. And turns into something more drawn-out, with a gate...a definite signature to it. Just as U2 has a signature post-christian-rock sound, so too do each one of our souls spill a unique sound across the pages of time. I find that concept massive and utterly out of reach at times. I feel like those things are too far above my ability to fully comprehend. That, as a side note, is another great thing about being human. We can always be full of wonder. But even so, I don't talk about the word "soul" too much in Christian circles, because I don't want to be labeled a Unitarian. Ironic, huh?

But all this talk, all I'm trying to say, is that we have so much to be thankful for, if we just first open our eyes, watch what is happening around us. Open our ears and listen to the sound of life. And focus on how things work. Allow ourselves to be amazed at the workings of our own bodies, of the creation around us. Consider the kindergarden child. What a honest time to be in awe of the world around him/her. If you're like me, you may ask yourself, "what happened to that sincerity? When did I decide to stop enjoying life? I have a few reasons. Painful reasons. But it could be anything really. disappointment, despair, abandonment. Life is rough. Survival is for the fittest. And so we shed our youthful disposition and tackle the bitch of a world that is later to be only lamented in our golden years.

All I know is that the older I get, the more I receive these moments when I'm shaken, stirred, and spit out from my routine...only to come back to the very same place I was the moment I accepted Christ at eight years of age. Back to the simple and the necessary things in life. And if I'm not mistaken, we can live an entire lifetime passing by the nature of happiness, mistaking it for something too simple. In exchange, we work hard every hour of the day, pressing on to attain some elusive sense of ourselves (just beyond the mirror), to one day be able to sit back and glory in our exploits and our achievements along the road of the American-style dream. What if there really is nothing "higher" to be gained in life's pursuits than the pleasure of building a relationship with the loving creator and the simple enjoyment of the work you do with your mind or with your hands?

Einstein received a letter once from a young math student complaining of the complexities of equations and the difficulty of mastering them...pleading to Einstein to help him solve some things, so he could become as great as Einstein. When writing back to the student, instead of reassuring him that he'll eventually figure it out or assisting him in solving the problems, Einstein said something miraculous. His words are forever etched in the stone of my mind. With all the power and ability to solve the greatest math problems of his day, Einstein instead comforted the young soul, assuring him that the same problems will stay with him his entire life. And that whatever struggles he is going through with math are equivalent to Einstein's own struggles.

Do you get the message there? This thing we call living...it's the great experiment...the thing that we all share in common. That no matter how good you are at any one thing, no matter if you are a master at all things...or if you are just beginning at life and testing out the theories penned by the masters of your day...no matter your intelligence or skill, you share with all humans in the human experience. And that, at a very basic level, connects you to all humans, all races. Yes, as a matter of fact, what I'm saying is very basic. But don't let the levity of it and the simplicity of it slip passed you. Just because it's simple doesn't make it any less profound.

If, then, the condition of man is such that keeps him from every truly authenticating himself to the point of emancipation from the his condition, then why in the world are we fighting so hard, daily to make it to the next thing? Why can't we just live? And enjoy today, while it still can be called today? To really relax in the loving arms of the creator. To know what it is like to be taken care of. to not need so many distractions. To open my mind, heart, soul, and body up to the supply line of the good and perfect presence of the Lord...to live like I was created to live...that is what sounds utterly blissful. Too good to be true?