Why not How

During this Christmas break I read Through Painted Deserts by Don Miller. The book follows the author and his friend Paul from Texas to Oregon and a few places in between. It's a wonderful narrative that pulled at my longing to travel and be free from worries. I think we all (at least guys) want to travel. I don't just mean vacation either. We want to be on an adventure of sorts. This book definetly puts you int the mood for one.
Miller's main point of the book is changing our thinking from how questions such as: How do I become sucessful? or How do I need to live? (which are still god questions) to Why questions like: Why did God create us? Why does a beauty have such an impact on my soul? We need to ponder these questions which are so often overlooked and exchanged for more superficial How questions.

Let's slow down and listen a while

Fewer and fewer people, it seems, simply listen to music these days. Instead of going to a concert or sitting down and listening, we use it as background noise for every imaginable activity. I think this does a great injustice to the music and, more specifically, the composer.

First, the person who wrote the song/piece never intended for it to be listened to while doing your homwork, driving, etc. The exception, however, is musique de table like Handel's water music. That was specifically designed for that purpose but I doubt he would have minded a closer listening by his audience. To make my point stronger, none of the popular music written today is for the purpose of background noise; it is art. Out of respect for the artist we should actually listen to the words/notes and find out what they have to say. Instead of actually tuning it out and usinng it as a way to avoid dreaded silence, we should take a few minutes to hear music. You have no idea how soothing even a single note can be unil you really listen to it.

However, some music really isn't worht your time in this way. But that's good; some of us should develop a more discriminating taste. Find the music that speaks to you, makes you cry, tells you something new, or gets your feet tapping and blood rushing. When was the last time music did any of these thing to you? It has the power to do so if you simply let it.

For example, the Festival of Christmas this year was filled with beautiful, slow music that can bring you to tears becuase of it's sheerr beauty. it also had music that could make you think, specifically about God and the Christmas season. But what to I see during these songs? My friend in the second row about passed out from boredom. Our listening habits have sone this to us! We are to lazy to open up our mind's ear and really hear the music. Don't get me wrong, it's not easy and it definetly isn't a walk in the park sometimes, but music has a capacity to move us if we let it. Maybe that's why we don't like Classical music or most jazz. It requires something from the listener and we are too busy to give anything to music. We want immediate gratification and, since we don't understand it now, we don't want to take the time to learn how to listen. It's just another part of the curse of the modern need for speed.


That's enough for now; go listen to some Beethoven. You'll thank me later.