Today’s image: Small harbour, Portugal..
As mentioned, Abuelo enjoys relaxing by watching nature programs, or – in stark contrast – watching the series on aircrash investigations.
The crashes I can take or leave – no, be honest, I prefer to leave them; but the statistician in me is rather concerned that there seems to be a never-ending supply of disasters – and they are all based on real cases. Paints the case for a Back-to-Burros movement. . .!
A recent program dealt with a large passenger plane – I think it was a 747 – that had come apart in midair. Among the people involved in the subsequent investigation was a highly qualified aircraft mechanic who works on 747s during their mandatory total overhauls. He’s done this for nearly 20 years, and when he flies, he said, he listens to everything. He knows what each squeak and rattle should sound like, and is acutely aware of anything that is even slightly off-key.
From Planes to Pianos
One friend I have is a worship leader. She is the most down to earth person you could look to find, while at the same time being remarkably spiritually acute. There is an innate honesty about her that drew me immediately, and from the beginning we found we could laugh at the same things – always a good base.
I thought of her when I was pondering these semi-philosophical thoughts.
While I use music here as the parallel it could be one of a dozen or more disciplines – art, architecture, sculpture, poetry – whatever it is that is someone’s centrality.
Feeling the Music
As a musician and worship leader you don’t go to a concert, or another church service, with the intent of academically critique-ing the music. But by the very fact that music is part of what you are, if there is a false note, a non-co-ordinated band, a feeble performance, you can’t help but notice it.
Likewise, if a performance flows smoothly, you may not set out to determine why this chord or that note worked in a specific situation. You can just appreciate it, and feel the richness of the total presentation.
That doesn’t make you a critic who thinks of herself ‘more highly than she ought’. It is simply an inevitable part of the whole, the outplaying of years of dedication.
It grows out of commitment to a calling, the decision to direct a God-given talent, the work it takes for the steady development into a skilled artist. Along with this is the supernatural (in the true sense of the word) separation into ministry.
And as a result, being that musician, you can ‘feel’ music and worship without having to run it past a check-box list of ‘6 steps to a successful worship presentation.’
It also means you never stop critiquing yourself, being constantly aware of how things move, determining where you want to make tweaks, add shades, push the boundaries.
Closer to Home – the Art of Words
This is where I am with the spoken word and oral presentations. From political guff to advert-gobbledegook, and including – inevitably – sermon messages.
I don’t go out to analyze, but the essence of who I am and what I have been, done and learned in the past decades is the filter through which I can appreciate others.
What strikes the true notes? Let that be the musings for another morning.
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