simplicity and four dollar perspective

i swear that you find the best stuff in delete bins.

i mean, think of all the great cd's or cheap dvd's that you've found there. how many amazing shirts or pairs of shoes have you picked up from a bin marked clearance? plenty i'll bet.

i recently found a book (now the odds of finding a good book among the stinkers and lo-fat cookbooks in a clearance bin are definately stacked against you, compared to finding a great sweater there, but that's a whole nother blog) in a bin at sears the other day. i was so excited that i dug around and found a second one, which i bought for a friend of mine. the book is called the music of creation and is written by my favourite secular franciscan monk: john michael talbot.

i discovered the music of john michael talbot when i was in high school. it was, apart from my dad's maranatha praise albums, my introduction to worship music per se. before and after that, everything was rock and roll for all the reasons that we love guitar, bass and drums blasting from the windows of a mustang driving down mainstreet in search of the ultimate challenge off of the line. ( i realize that this probably warrants no comparison aesthetically to the tooth-rattling drone characterizing the powerful subsonic presence of a tricked out, hip-hop fueled honda crx pulling up to a light behind or beside you, but whatever... i digress)

point is, talbot's stuff was different than anything that i had ever heard. although he was a monk in a habit, he was this brilliant guitar player who was able to reflect upon the attributes of God with liturgical balance, while playing with the passion and prowess of a man who had sold his soul at the crossroads. although, over time, his music did become quieter and more contemplative as he changed from steel to nylon strings, there was still an integrity that said to the listener that this man was singing from the core of who he was to the creator of that core, not simply serving up some nice background ambience for preachers to write sermons by. years before i was writing worship songs and leading God's people towards the throne of grace myself, i was being led into the presence of God by this guy.

anyway, enough fanclub tributes. i bought this book for $3.98 and began to read it.

i didn't get past the introduction before i was smitten with the power of an image cited by talbot and used by monks of the christian orthodox east to describe the stillness and silence of their unique way of life, a life of quiet discipline that is lived intentionally with contemplative prayer and mystical union with God as its objective (summarized in the greek word hesychia meaning stillness and silence.) he speaks of a pond.
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When a pond is agitated, it becomes muddy and unclear. You cannot see what is within, nor does it reflect what is without. But as the pond becomes still, the water settles and slowly clarifies. When the water is still clear, you can see the reality of what is within. Its surface also becomes mirror-like, reflecting all that is without and providing a brilliant display of the surrounding trees and foliage, the animals and people along its bank, as well as the very blue of the endless sky...

Hesychia is a way of stillness that helps calm the waters of the soul, bringing us inner peace. Once that occurs, we can see underneath the turbulent surface of our lives, perhaps for the first time. In Hesychia, our spirit, soul, and body become mirrors reflecting the reality of God and the original harmony and peace he intended for all creation.

Achieving this kind of clarity is only the beginning of a lifelong process, because once we can see into the pond of our soul, we can begin to make out some of the old garbage that has lain on the bottom for many years without detection...
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four dollar perspective with which to step into a new year... i'm still trying to figure out how to apply it to my own cluttered journey.