As with many of the inspirations I have for posting something to this blog, I could most often cite TheArtofManliness.com as a common source. The blog/website is a fantastic source of information and helpful encouragement for those who wish to see more in their fellow man. Recently, Mr. McKay "retweeted" an article that appeared in a 1902 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine (of all places). The post can be found here and the material is from the article entitled "What Men Like in Men", written by Rafford Pike. I started reading down the page and I came to this paragraph, reproduced here for the reader's convenience:
"... The average man will name a number of qualities which he thinks he likes, rather than those which in his heart of hearts he actually does like. In the case of one who tries to enumerate the characteristics which he
admires in other men, this sort of answer is not insincere. Although it
is defective, and essentially untrue, the man himself is quite
unconscious of the fact. The inaccuracy of his answers really comes from
his inability to analyze his own preferences. The typical man is
curiously deficient in a capacity for self-analysis. He seldom devotes
any serious thought to the origin of his opinions, the determining
factor in his judgments, the ultimate source of his desires, or the
hidden mainsprings of his motives. In all that relates to the external
and material world he observes shrewdly, reasons logically, and acts
effectively; but question him as to the phenomena of the inner world –
the world of his own Ego – and he is dazed and helpless. This he never
bothers his head about, and when you interrogate him closely and do not
let him put you off with easy generalities, he will become confused and
at last contemptuous, if not actually angry. He will begin so suspect
that you are just a little “queer”; and if he knows you well enough to
be quite frank with you, he will stigmatize your psychological inquiries
as “rot.”…"
At this point, I looked ahead to see how many more paragraphs were left in the article and though I returned to read the rest of the article later (this was only the second paragraph, mind you), I had decided that the mission of the article had already been fulfilled: it had just stated what I admire in other men (and other women, for that matter).
Human virtues, like anything else of value, are prized for their rarity among men, and just as a flawless diamond takes much perseverance and hard work to obtain due to its rarity, virtue also is rare because of the demands it makes on the man who seeks it. If human virtues were as abundant as blades of grass in a field or grains of sand in a desert, we would assign them the same value as these. However, virtue is not that easily found or obtained, so it is natural that we value it in other men.
The most rare of all human virtues is self-awareness, or maybe more accurately, self-comprehension. It is rare because those who seek it must do battle with the most common and deadly of the human vices: pride. Self-comprehension permits every agent in an environment to be judged in the context of that environment, including the individual himself. This man understands that when judging a situation or situation of persons, he is never exempt from being included in those circumstances which he scrutinizes. Regardless of the subject matter, he always makes some alteration to that environment and thus must be included in its judgement.
In this manner, self-comprehension enables the individual to perceive himself in the context of his surroundings, almost as a completely alter-ego. The self-comprehensive man's gaze reaches farther from an independent perspective than any person who fails to understand that his personality has effect on the circumstances. The mystery of why a friend is quick to temper with us is easily solved when we realize our own tendency to make inflammatory remarks.
The self-comprehensive man not only knows of his leanings and biases: he also knows why he has them. He keeps record of his influences, in a way, similar to a student citing his sources in a research paper. Every agreement he has to an idea is properly labelled and everything is organized. With this organizational system, it's not only important to know one's flaws or weaknesses, but it's knowing where those flaws and weaknesses originated from which set the self-comprehensive man apart from the rest as a gem of uncountable worth.
As the worth of virtue is in its practice, the worth of self-comprehension is most notably found in the practice of self-improvement. While self-awareness permits the man to admit to his failures and shortcomings, the self-comprehensive man does this and also understands why he fails in these ways. The answer to "why" is the answer to what strategies he must take to better himself, putting himself in a more advantageous situation than the sick man who knows that he's ill, but knows not why.
This is a post from the series, "The Highest Human Science". Click here for a complete list of all posts in the series.
Once more, we return to that most important study of philosophy, and this is indeed one of the more important chapters in our study of philosophical history. Up to this point, we've been discussing and looking into the various erroneous ways of thought from the ancient cultures and religions of the world, as well as the turn towards the reason properly, though misguidedly exercised in the early Greek thinkers. This all culminated in the great thoughts and teachings of Socrates, who would inspire one young student of his to change the scope of the entire study...
Yes, a "Play-Doh" representation of Plato
Plato (BC 427-347), student of the eminent Socrates and intellectual giant of his time was now given the torch of Philosophy: the standard of intellectual progress to further the understanding of mankind. Really, this was to be a vast task and not one lightly undertaken and for all this pressure riding on Plato... he didn't do half bad.
As a start, he believed in an ultimately perfect Being. He perceived that the things around him had perfection and imperfections mingled together, so it was not out of the realm of imagination to suppose that there was something after which all perfection was an imitation. This perfect being is the basis, the foundation and source for everything that we see.
Socrates' philosophy, as previously reviewed, is purposed towards determining the essences of things; Plato's thought, on the other hand had the goal of determining perfect ideas of things. For according to Plato, the apprehension of a particular thing's essence is well and good, i.e. what is the essence (or essential qualities) of this glass of Rex Goliath malbec wine that I'm drinking while writing this post, but what about wine as an idea? What is the essence of Wine, the idea? After all, these are universal to everyone. If I tell you I want wine, sure, you might bring me an expensive chardonnay or a cheap merlot, but the fact that with a word, "wine", you understood what I was essentially referring to, this indicated to Plato that there was an idea of Wine that we all shared in and could all comprehend. With this, the nature of wine could be contemplated and we could analyze what it essentially meant to be "wine-like".
"Plato's Cave" by Jan Saenredam
Though everything looks good, thus far, Plato's next thought led him off the beaten path and into his first error. He claimed that since these ideas are universal and with the ultimate perfections of these ideas, there must be an eternal archetype of "wine" that exists in the heavenly realm. It is this that we get a glimpse of when we think of the subject, though our perceptions may be imperfect, because the physical representations of this idea around us are imperfect (i.e., all the bottles of wine in the world just don't encompass the perfection of that single ultimate idea of wine). He called these perfect ideas the Forms, and it was the goal of our existence to obtain perfect apprehension of these holy ideas.
A representation of Plato's Cave by Bryce Haymond
This led Plato to claim that if perfection is to be found in the heavenly Forms, then the sensible world is to be regarded as a deceptive shadow of reality. This notion is the source of Allegory of Plato's cave. In essence, the citizens of the cave are chained the floor and are unable to look anywhere but the cave wall straight ahead, upon which is projected the shadows of characters and animations from a backlighting fire (similar to the notion of "shadow puppets") The sensible world, therefore, is only a crude representation of the truth, and a soul is meant to leave the cave and walk into the sunlight and see the world as it truly is.
So if these ideas, these perfectly divine Forms are what reality is all about, how do we have them in our heads? Certainly we didn't obtain them from our sensible experience of the world because the objects of this perception are imperfect. Plato claimed that we had previous knowledge of these ideas before our incarnation, and with our birth, our physical bodies and perceptions obscured these truths. He also subscribed to the mistaken belief (shared by the Brahmanist) of transmigration of the soul from one body to another after death.
Ok, so if we're honest, Plato is beginning to sound a bit hokey. Wine, shadow puppets, and transmigration? Sounds like a bad children's bedtime story. Though it would not be accurate to say that Plato completely dropped the ball with the intellectual inheritance that to which he was entrusted, he did screw up quite a bit and a more complete and accurate philosophy would be need to be built on Plato's good ideas before we could call it a day.
Stepping off my connecting flight from Kansas City to Charlotte, NC en route to Cleveland, I entered the men's bathroom to perform my necessaries. As I made my way through the door, I almost froze with shock as I thought I was looking at Bernie Mac (God rest his soul) or a very close relative of his. From crazy hair to comical smile, I was certain that he could've made a career being a Mac-alike. It hadn't occurred to me why he was there in his airport uniform, but I made my way to the urinal to fulfill my purpose.
Then, the man who looked like Bernie Mac began to talk to the patrons of the men's restroom. "How are you all doing today? Early? Man, you've gotta wake up with a smile! Since 4 am? Well, I was up by then too! I just want to see everyone smile. How're you doing, sir? I'm good, I'm good, I don't complain. Because nobody listens. How're you doing, sir? Oh, can I help you with that? Don't want you to have any trouble carrying anything and hurting yourself! Alright, alright..." Without trying to be too gratuitous with my details, this sort of upfront chatter was making my bladder very shy, standing before the urinal.
Was the airport paying this guy? It all seemed very invasive and awkward, since the unspoken rule in men's bathroom is that everything should be left unspoken. I was reminded of my similar apprehension when I was pulled aside twice to have my bags checked before getting on to my previous flight. I had been immediately uncomfortable at the thought of being poked and prodded like you hear on all the news stories. Gee, couldn't Bernie Mac just stop talking and let a guy tinkle in peace? I half-expected him with his overly-enthusiastic attitude to give ever man trying to take a whiz in the row of urinals a hearty "good game" butt slap to encourage excellent urination.
This man's identity has been cleverly concealed by the photographer's crappy iPhone camera
Speaking of the news, I never watch it, but the airport TVs were full of them, all playing one news program or another. The interesting thing was that they were all national network news programs: not local new. National news has absorbed the consciousness of many people. From the presidential elections to the latest disaster, everyone wants to know what's going on around the country. What is Congress fouling up now? How's the stock market doing? What's the latest news with big business? While waiting for my second plane, a man standing in the middle of the gate's sitting area spoke loudly about his company's business strategy and expansion plans, as if to make a big scene of his importance. It was quite comical, and I even snuck a picture, but he seriously was wholly absorbed with global business.
This, I think can be applied to the Hollywood scene as well. Programs like TMZ have made all kinds of money off of gossip and scoop stories on the lives of the "rich and famous". Some people follow their lives more closely than they follow those of their children. America is obsessed with the celebrity scene and any latest juicy, chewy piece of fat to fall from the tables of the mass media is enough into a frantic feeding frenzy and bring us back, begging for more.
I think this even ties into something I was recently having a discussion about regarding "philanthropic" endeavors, especially those worldwide. Wiki-pedia defines "philanthropy" using the notion of enhancing "what it is to be human". Does anyone doing "philanthropy" know what it means "to be human"? And why do these efforts always seem to happen in Africa or some disaster stricken area? What's wrong with right here, in my neighborhood?
These three things all have a common source: an inordinate global concern and a dangerous unwillingness to take personal responsibility for ourselves and our own community. Those who contribute to the alleviate "world hunger" often fail to alleviate the very real pains and struggle of their friends, family, and the needy of their own community. Philanthropy is opposed to true charity, as it seeks to draw attention towards "real world" needs... and the efforts of those who make them. More often then not, my experience has been that philanthropy is a feather in people's caps, and not a nail in their hands and feet like charity is. Anyone can give money to feed the kids in Africa and feel like they did their good deed, but can you give a hug to your mother or father, or a helping hand on your brother's homework, or an hour or two helping your grandparents rake the leaves in their backyard?
We consume the celebrity gossip because the moral missteps of the accomplished and powerful make us feel better about our ethically bankrupt lives. In this same vein, it allows us to neglect our own areas of deficiency, so as not to expose what the level of self-knowledge we lack. We absorb this information because it counts as entertainment to hear about the scandals, the divorces, the political opinions, and the drama; but really, seeing this a source of entertainment helps to placate our own nagging consciences about the miserable and messed-up lives we're leading. In many cases, our lives are not any better than those of Hollywood. We just count ourselves lucky that they're under that kind of scrutiny for our entertainment and comforting, and we're not.
People focus on national or global political "issues" because they can remain anonymous about them. We can scream at our televisions at home, and not need to bring our concerns in front of an actual group of people. Mass media and social networks have allowed the citizen to be anonymous in his opinions, never needing to have the courage to risk his identity to stand up for his beliefs. I do believe that our nation is in a very dangerous time with the liberties that have been taken at the national level, but let it not be an excuse to neglect valuing our own local government and business success.
So, do I place my own life into consideration and determine what things I need to change? Do I treat those immediately around me with love and kindness, because "charity begins at home"? In what ways do I look to be a force for the common good of those within my neighborhood or community by setting a personal example for others?
I know I'm asking these questions, but to be honest, I hadn't really thought of an answer because Bernie Mac was still talking and I still couldn't pee yet.
Yes, it's true, Maybellene and I are no more. The cost of maintaining such an impractical automobile for someone my age and professional status was just to difficult. Though I will probably won't have such a chimerical car for quite some time again, it was fun for the year or so, but I needed practical. Options were slim, and they were made even more limited by the fact that the car had to be something I could afford a monthly payment for, as well as monthly gas. So really, I wasn't choosing the car; rather, this was a case in which the car really chose me: a 2010 Ford Focus S.
Maybellene's sleek black body styling is traded for a spoiled-rotten, candy red. The melodious stereo system has been traded for an unbalanced racket. The painless, "hands-off", automatic-manual gear box has been replaced with the excruciating, "hands-pulling-out-hair", manual gear box. The saucy red leather interior has been swapped for a grumpy grey, poly-fiber blend. At first glance, you'd think this car was a monumental letdown, but practical is as practical does and a man's gotta grow up sometime...
But as soon as I got into the car, I seriously doubted that I was heading in that direction. Reaching into the box of Maybellene's former belongings, I pulled out a few choice CDs that might console me on my grave loss. To my surprise, none of them were fitting into the slot. A CD had been left in the car by the previous owner. I tried to eject it to see what it was, but the CD would not come forth at my command. After taking out an initial moment of intense frustration on the steering wheel, I was struck by an immense stroke of genius: no greater opportunity than this could be afforded to learn about the car's previous owner. Immediately, my momentary rage melted into the most engaged curiosity and I played the CD.
What met my ears was the most heinous collection of party rock I'd ever heard, with songs by "artists" such as Ludacris and Ke$ha (and judging by the sound quality, it was likely pirated). Furthermore, they weren't even the songs you heard on the radio; all of them were mediocre, B-side quality. Indeed, this was a juicy find, and my mind began to notice other telling personality traits.
The previous owner (rather, the owner's parents) had installed an "M-Key" device offered by Ford which prevents the driver from doing certain things with the car that some might consider dangerous. The device limits how high the radio's volume can be set. Also, this functionality will turn off any audio in the car if the driver fails to buckle his seat belt. But to top it off, the device will warn you with a noise if the car approaches 75 mph and will automatically apply the brakes to keep the driver from going anything over 80 mph.
Upon an initial overview of the car, I noticed that there was a floor pad missing from the driver's side of the car. Now, I'm not one to speculate too far into things, but I would certainly like an explanation as to why a floor pad, specifically made for this car model is missing. All the others are present, but I find it very intriguing that the the one missing is the driver's.
After mentioning these findings to the respectable salesman who sold me the car and offering my speculative conclusions, he told me that the car's previous bumper stickers would most certainly support my suspicions. Before the car came into my possession, there had been bumper stickers for the University of Missouri - St. Louis, a commuter college, and a "rainbow" awareness ribbon.
With these facts in hand, I was now able to make some claims regarding the previous owner of the car. The first, and most obvious fact, was that the previous owner had been a girl, most likely a student of the commuter college to which the bumper sticker denoted. The car was purchased new by her parents, as indicated by the activated M-Key functionality. Certainly, she was an irresponsible child and not trusted at all by her parents, and it is very likely that in her fecklessness, she had totalled her previous car, hence the new car with the overkill M-Key security features. Also, it's possible that the manual transmission was selected by the parent's to discourage texting-and-driving, a well-known practice among girls.
The awareness bumper sticker leaves no mystery as to the secular leanings of the girl's worldview and the forever-stuck CD reinforces this worldly hypothesis. The CDs song selection also makes some interesting suggestions. The first song on the CD was by St. Louis-native, Nelly, and is titled "Hey Porsche". A link to the lyrics can be found here, as they are too vile to post on this respectable blog. Also, the fact that the songs are less popular than the big hits of these mainstream artists suggests that she might have a hipster streak about her. However, after careful consideration, I concluded that a hipster girl would never listen to mainstream artists at all, so it is most probable that the previous owner just had terrible taste in music.
The only missing piece to explain now is the missing driver's side floor mat. Relying on the conclusions we've already made, it seems logical that while driving home after a long night of partying at her girlfriends' house, the owner vomited on the floor at a stop light to relieve her stomach of the gratuitous quantities of McCormick's vodka and Jack Daniel's whiskey. Unable to clean it without her parent's noticing, she threw the mat into a nearby dumpster and Fe-breezed the car, effectively eliminating the odor and the mess.
Therefore, the previous owner of the car was surely an upper middle-class, blonde, spoiled, sorority brat with the most terrible taste in music and a high number of supremely bad life-choices. It is for this reason, that I have named the car, Brittany. These deductions make me realize the subtly colorful character of an otherwise typically practical car, and though she's not the fiery temptress that Maybellene was, she's definitely got spunk: and I like her spunk.
Dear Maybellene,
We're through. It's over. I've moved on. Yes, enough is enough and I'm calling this whole thing off. We've been together for 15 months and I'm finally sick and tired enough of all of this to just end things.
No, I'm not going to get into the specifics of why. We're just not right for each other at this point in our lives. Maybe we used to be, but that was then and things have changed.
I felt like no matter how much I gave to our relationship, you just demanded more. When your MPG bottoms out at an average 20 mpg, can't you see why I can't justify putting any more gas into this relationship? I even gave you a new set of tires for our 6 month anniversary, but you were burning through those as much as the old ones. I had just had enough of your stupid sunroof that always got jammed when I tried to open it, and your low clearance was a endless embarrassment whenever you scraped your undercarriage on a parking curb. Now look what you've done: you got me going into specifics.
Oh, who am I kidding, Maybellene? I miss you already. I miss your raunchy red leather seats, I miss your rebellious, impractical teenage attitude. I toss and turn at night, thinking about someone else's hands lovingly embracing your leather-wrapped steering wheel. I'm deathly afraid that some spoiled brat girl has you now and is foolishly ignoring the true potential of your V6 engine.
But I know it's for the best, girl. I'm sure we won't meet again, and maybe one day I'll find another wildly quixotic car like you. At the very least, though, we have the memories we've shared and those, I'll never forget. Goodbye, Maybellene.
If I began a sentence with "I was listening to some Christian rock and...," most people have one of two reactions. If you're one of those people that would get really excited and eager to talk about your favorite Reliant K song, I'm sorry to say I'm going to disappoint you with this post. On the other hand, if you're one of those people who says that Christian rock is for uncool, churchy kids, then I'm going to surprise you by revealing that some of the most Christian music I have ever heard is actually from a popular band.
"Jacob Wrestling with the Angel" by Rembrandt
My primary criticism of much of the popular Christian music that I've heard is that it lacks the human element. Personally, I find much of it nauseatingly upbeat and predictably appealing to my feelings (if I had any). As a result, much of it fails to wrestle with faith, as Jacob wrestled with the angel. For this generation, faith doesn't come easy, and I think it doesn't come easy for anyone. There are far too many challenges to it for it to be simply a walk in the park. Personally for me, it's a regular struggle to push past my own rational outlook on the world and seek to understand the Divine Being who is the source of all good. Therefore, simply praising and worshiping is not something I completely "get".
Whether you have this same conflict as I do or not, everyone has their own reasons to struggle with faith. It might not be perpetual, though. Often times, it's a thing that works in a cycle: you find an inspiration to your faith, you cultivate and treasure it. Then, when you're feeling strong on your feet, you forget what go you there, which is why you fall flat on your face soon after. But ultimately, the true Christian will arise once more and fight his way back to faith and this time, in an effort to keep it.
Therefore, the Christian rock that is going to popularly engage this generation of people is going to appeal to this seemingly contradictory notion of zealously high aspirations for our faith, frustration and anxiety at our repeated failures, and a committed conversion back to our faith in God. The band I have in mind, then, is none other than Mumford & Sons, and more specifically, their album, "Sigh No More".
Mumford & Sons
The album contains more Christian themes than I myself understand, and yet it maintains a firm grounding in the human person, with all of our struggles and trials. Anyone who is truly a Christian knows that it takes hard work to be one. If you don't feel like your sweating blood sometimes, just to keep your faith, then I would say you're not a Christian: your faith is not being tested, you are not truly following the path of Christ in suffering and sorrow. It is a constant struggle, one in which we occasionally, or even frequently fail to meet. But the hallmark of such an epic fight for our souls is to dust off and try again.
It all begins with the statement: "Serve God, love me, and mend". (Sigh No More) Service to God, love others, and then take care of yourself. This, of course, is none other than the Golden Rule, learned from Jesus Christ. Our lives belong to God and it is through our interaction with others that we can show our affection for God, by keeping his commandment first with the people around us and then with ourselves. The song continues with a statement so hopeful, I must reproduce it here in its entirety:
Love; it will not betray you Dismay or enslave you, it will set you free Be more like the man you were made to be
First, Love is what sets us free, and as God is caritas, the highest, ultimate form of love, that voluntary servitude towards God and others will paradoxically give us freedom, not take it away. It is in this choice of service that we demonstrate that we are free to do so. The third line suggests that to love like this is Man's true purpose, which is confirmed in the second song of the album, The Cave. The desire for freedom is once more urgently desired, "Cause I need freedom now, and I need to know how, to live my life as it's meant to be." (The Cave) The imagery of the song makes unmistakeable references to Homer's The Odyssey, in which the homeward hero, Odysseus, instructs his crew to tie him to the mast of the ship as they passed by the island of the deadly Sirens, temptresses of the sea who draw sailors to their deaths on the rocky island shores. The song draws on this desire to resist their temptuous call, even taunting the sirens with the lines, "The harvest left no food for you to eat. You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see, but I have seen the same, I know the shame in your defeat," (The Cave) for it was believed that the Sirens were cannibalistic. The third song of "Sigh No More", Winter Winds, speaks further of this same hope, reminding us that "remember spring swaps snow for leaves, you'll be happy and wholesome again, when the city clears and sun ascends." (Winter Winds) Hope that is a sure mark of the Christian, for while the rest of the world despairs in its damnation, this soul understands that he was made to be united with God and He will deliver him.
Ulysses and the Sirens by John William Waterhouse
However, pride, doubt, and rebellion begins to creep in. Despite the obviously Christian references of Roll Away the Stone, it is not a positive song towards faith. In fact, it is contemptuous and bitter towards God: "It seems that all my bridges have been burnt, but you say that's exactly how this grace thing works." (Roll Away the Stone) To be honest, I sympathize with the verses of this song because faith often results in the free choice of the Creation against the Creator. It is certainly not Man's purpose to do this, as we have seen, but we do it anyway because our created natures "know better" than the omnipotent nature: "But you, you've gone too far this time, you have neither reason nor rhyme, with which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine." (Roll Away the Stone)
My interpretation of White Blank Page, the fifth song on the album, presumes to put words in the mouth of God, as I believe he reacts to this rebellion. The opening verses of the song question Man's desires and probes his very soul for fittingness:
Can you lie next to her And give her your heart, your heart As well as your body And can you lie next to her And confess your love, your love As well as your folly And can you kneel before the King And say I'm clean, I'm clean
To me, this echoes a soul's Examination of Conscience, in which the Christian surveys their words, thoughts, and actions for any sins committed for which reparations need to be made. It is true, a man in rebellion against God cannot answer these and still claim to be His servant. However, it is with great sadness that the words mournfully carry on, "But tell me now, where was my fault, in loving you with my whole heart." (White Blank Page) Who can claim no fault or harm towards us and also have loved us with His whole heart? My guess is Jesus Christ.
The human soul is now steeped in bitterness towards his Creator. He has forsaken Him and has turned towards his own passions, "Stars hide your fires, these here are my desires, and I won't give them up to you this time around." (Roll Away the Stone) But it is in I Gave You All that Man must express his unmistakeably anguish at having been separated from God.The lost and wayward soul has given his God everything he has, and yet "... you rip it from my hands, and you swear it's all gone. And you rip out all I have, just to say that you've won," like a small child who takes what is not his and hides it behind his back, claiming complete ignorance of the wrong.
Devils from a fresco in the Rila Monestary in Bulgaria
Now, the devil has his prize. Man has forsaken God for his own passions, and now Satan claims what is his. He taunts Man, "Weep for yourself, my man, you'll never be what is in your heart. Weep, little lion man, you're not as brave as you were at the start." (Little Lion Man) This hits very close to home for me and for anyone who recognizes, despite their best intentions, there is always that evil voice, whispering in your ear and telling you about all the things you could never do because you lack the strength and courage to do them. This song is by far the most angsty and frustrated of the entire album. Even the chord progression sounds like a demon's jig over his winnings. The devil gloats to us that despite all our strength, all our virtue, we are still subject to his power and "your grace is wasted in your face, your boldness stands alone among the wreck." (Little Lion Man) In fear is the way the devil likes to keep Man, and it is in our fears that Satan reigns supreme.
If Little Lion Man is Satan's triumphant jeering, then Timshel, the proceeding song, is God's invitation to return to His grace. Upon seeing the peculiar title of the song, I was immediately curious about what it meant. As it turns out, timshel is commonly understood to be Hebrew for "thou shalt", as it is found in the Ten Commandments. However, in John Steinbeck's book East of Eden, two characters have a discussion of its meaning, and one of them reveals that it's original meaning has been confused and that it actually means "thou mayest". He claims that the "mayest" distinguishes itself from "shalt" because it puts emphasis on Man's freedom to choose, and not on the deterministic and inevitable implications of "shalt". Mumford & Sons makes this a critical, tender moment after the previous harsh, and at times vulgar tune of Little Lion Man. The soul now realizes that despite his despair, "you have your choices, and these are what make man great, his ladder to the stars." (Timeshel) Man's freedom is what makes him like God, in his image and likeness. God does not leave Man to these choices, alone and unaided: "you are not alone in this, as brothers we will stand and we'll hold your hand." (Timshel) However as the song ends, the final haunting words, "But I can't move the mountains for you" (Timshel) put the ultimate responsibility on Man to make the right choices. God's grace is sufficient to do anything, and He gives it to us all time, but if we are not willing to to do the will of God, His grace will fall on fallow ground or choked by thorns. (Luke 8:4-15)
Thorns, or Thistles and Weeds, which coincidentally enough, is the title of the next song, rise up and choke our faith in Christ's Parable of the Sower. The lyrics tell us to "plant your hope with good seeds, don't cover yourself with thistle and weeds, rain down, rain down on me." (Thistles and Weeds) In keeping with the Parable of the Sower, the teachings of Christ are the good seeds we should seek to plant within us, and those of the world only yield destructive fruits. The song creates an air of impending doom, as if the vices of this world threaten to strangle any faith that we have.
Landscape with the Parable of the Sower
by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Threatened by this evil, Man cries out to be free of these vicious habits and temptations. Our souls were made for higher things, but when our back have been turned to God's graces, these higher things are impossible to realize. Very soon, a soul must admit that he's been wrong, that "now my heart stumbles on things I don't know, my weakness I feel I must finally show." (Awake My Soul) That 'weakness' of dependence on God is a lie from the devil. Of course, we are weak, but the notion that we are autonomous, that we have no dependence on anything is a clever deception of the devil to take advantage of our pride: "How fickle my heart and how woozy my eyes, I struggle to find any truth in your lies." (Awake My Soul) But Man knows in the depths of his heart that he is dependent and that he cannot live without a higher Helper. The Helper, which is a term used by Christ in reference to Holy Spirit, offers to us, "Lend me your hand and we'll conquer them all, but lend me your heart and I'll just let you fall. Lend me your eyes I can change what you see, but your soul you must keep, totally free." (Awake My Soul) God permits us to keep our souls and our freedom. He does not take that timshel away, but gives us that responsibility to make those choices. He allows us to fall sometimes because that is how we realize our dependence on our Creator, "For you were made to meet your maker." (Awake My Soul)
The eleventh song on the album, Dust Bowl Dance, deviates strangely from the rather abstract, introspective tone of the rest of the album. It tells the story of a young man whose farm is being foreclosed upon after a recent famine. The young man's anger and bitter frustration with those who would take his land is frighteningly apparent with, "I'll go out back and I'll get my gun, I'll say, 'You haven't met me, I am the only son.'" (Dust Bowl Dance) However, this song is retrospective because the crime has already been committed, "Well, yes sir, yes sir, yes, it was me, I know what I've done, 'cause I know what I've seen." (Dust Bowl Dance) After the evil Man does in a moment of passionate rage, the soul feels the crushing weight of its sins and the feeling is one of intense contrition, "So collect your courage and collect your horse, and pray you never feel this same kind of remorse." (Dust Bowl Dance) And this is how we reapproach our God who we have denied: with sorrow and true contrition for our sins. The soul, having made this painful journey illustrated in each chapter of this album, now looks to return to God and seek his forgiveness.
The Storm on the Sea of Galilee by Rembrandt
It is fitting then, that final song of the "Sigh No More", After the Storm, draws on some imagery from the Parable of the Prodigal Son. After his defiance to God, after his bitter rebellion against his Creator, Man's pride fails him and he cannot run anymore, "And after the storm, I run and run as the rains come and I look up, I look up, on my knees and out of luck, I look up." (After the Storm) His soul is weary of his insurgency against the Lord, for he has found the bottom of the pit which he himself has dug. He sees the meaninglessness of his own acts, but still desires to not waste away, "But I won't rot, I won't rot, not this mind and not this heart, I won't rot." (After the Storm) Now, the soul must return to his God. His loneliness in his appalling state has shown him that God is the only one who can welcome him back: "And I won't die alone and be left there. Well I guess I'll just go home, Oh God knows where." (After the Storm) Though his sorrow for his own sins makes him realize the grave injustice that he has done to his Maker, it does not stifle all his hope. With God, there is a better life, and these verses make that abundantly clear:
And there will come a time, you'll see, with no more tears. And love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears. Get over your hill and see what you find there, With grace in your heart and flowers in your hair.
And with that, Sigh No More reaches it's conclusion, and the Christian begins once more in his quest for unity with God. So am I totally full of it? Am I just making this up and really this album is another rant meant to fulfill any lingering teenage angst? Maybe, but as far as I'm concerned, this is the most Christian rock album I've ever heard.
Remember those stories that had you fill in key words or phrases to create a totally random and hilarious story? It'd typically go something like, "This morning, I woke up to the sound of a (noun) while I was dreaming about (an activity you hate doing) ..." You would ask a friend to give the your necessary words or phrases without telling him or her the context of the words. When you were finished, you'd read the short story from beginning to end and have a good laugh over it.
I bring this up because I was thinking about what kinds of answers would fill in the blanks if modern popular music provided the answers. Probably something like this:
I was awoken this morning by tik tok, on the clock, but the party don't stop no, after a long night of livin' a Teenage Dream. I put on my ripped jeans, skin was showin' before going downstairs to have some breakfast. Next thing I know, I'm gonna pop some tags, only got twenty dollars in my pocket, but before I do, my mom says to me, "HEYYYY, SEXY LADY!!!!".
Ok, maybe this is a silly exercise, so are these lyrics. Although the truth is that you could do this to Shakespeare and he'd look pretty comical, the point is that these are the things were hear from popular music and have been for a very long time.
PSY performing "Gangnam Style"
However, I am sensing a shift in the preferences of a growing portion of today's music lovers, and it's exactly because the younger generations are realizing that life isn't about the instant gratification anymore. They've been there, they've done that for long enough and they're finally over its glamor. So how is this reflected in musical tastes?
Whatever is "popular" appeals to a baser part of our souls. People choose what is "popular" not because it enriches them; rather one chooses what is popular because it is in keeping with the status quo. Since "everyone is doing it", no one is going to criticize or attack your for doing it yourself.
Sometimes, though, this conception of "popular" wavers and falters under the underestimated strength of the human heart. Sometimes, a truthful light shines through and those who are open to it gather around it. I believe that some interesting trends in contemporary can be seen in this way: as encouraging and cultivating inspirations of what we all truly long for in the deepest desires of our hearts.
The first expression of such a longing is in hurt. Artists such as Grace Potter and the Nocturnals and ADELE come to mind here. The primary subject matter of their songs center around themes of sadness, hurt, and loneliness. Broken and shattered amidst the heartbreak in the world, this music expresses confusion and laments, "I often think about where I went wrong, the more I do, the less I know." ("Don't You Remember" - ADELE, click here for full lyrics) Living the disillusioned life has indeed brought about this pain because the indulgence in what is "popular" has promised the maximum pleasure, but only delivers the deepest, cutting pain. This hurt is always present in the shame at who we have become and what we have sacrificed, "'Cause every town's got a mirror and every mirror still shows me, that I am my own ragged company." ("Ragged Company" - Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, click here for full lyrics)
These artists and others have become "popular" because they speak for the hurt and shame that we all have. Their appeal is in their lamenting that we can all identify with. Though it would be a mistake to believe that one day, this is all the world will listen to, this is what a large number of people are gravitating towards because 'misery loves company', and these artists make explicit what lives implicitly in all of our broken souls.
Acknowledgement of one's misery is the first necessary step, but even more imperative is the discover of our innate desire for the good and the willful resolution to obtain it. Florence + the Machine and Mumford & Sons rank among the most popular influences on this genre which encourages people to be "more like the man you were made to be." ("Sigh No More" - Mumford & Sons, click here for full lyrics) It's true, these songs are about pain and hurt, but their defining characteristic is not in complaining to the world about endless woes. Courage is necessary to carry on after being let-down, the ability to pick up the pieces and find peace in carrying on. This kind of music has gained significant popularity because the listener it attracts is "done with [her] graceless heart, so tonight [she's] gonna cut it out and then restart." ("Shake It Out" - Florence + the Machine, click here for full lyrics)
Though we must not fool ourselves into thinking that because a few artists are gaining some traction in popular culture, the whole world will suddenly embrace this truth and desire for the full meaning of our lives, but what I think it does mean is that there is a growing number of people out there who are realizing that their lives have purpose and they are called to acts of heroism and virtue.
A calling to deny those passions that come so easily to us and ascend to lives of greatness and meaning is the heart's true desire. "Party rocking" and living "gangnam style" feed the body, but they leave the soul starving for sustenance. Pop culture is popular and will remain so, as long as it feeds our vices and encourages our lukewarmness. But life's true adventure is proving to ourselves, even when no one is watching, that we were made for great deeds and noble hearts.
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