"...praise should be the permanent pulsation of the soul."

“People are more themselves when joy is the fundamental thing in them, and grief the superficial. Melancholy should be an innocent interlude, a tender and fugitive frame of mind; praise should be the permanent pulsation of the soul. Pessimism is at best an emotional half-holiday; joy is the uproarious labor by which all things live.”

–G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

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good art

One of our Creative Call PlayGroup participants appeared in an art show last week. Here are some words of encouragement I wrote to her after the show...I hope it proves an encouragement to you, too!

Peace,
Troy

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You are a true artist. You should never doubt that.

On Tuesday, I tried looking for something good at the art show. Here is what I saw:

Some of the pieces were well-painted;

the photographs were stunning in color and composition;

there was a cute series with a fox and a lily;

another man’s art was versatile;

there was an artist with accomplished stylings of Chicago;

a jewelry maker with pieces that were intricate but mostly too large;

but your work was exceptional and best.

Let me tell you why.

Your work was redemptive. “Nothing Wasted.”

Though the photographs were well-taken…they were ugly. Pictures of waste. Maybe they were pictures about mourning decay. But mourning the night is redemptive only when Morning, whose second name is Joy, moves in. Brokenness without healing is just brokenness.

Your work portrayed a story of precious material…thrown away…and reclaimed to become something it could never become on its own without the Loving Hand of a Master Artist. Your work was imbued with dignity. And, because of its whimsy (who takes aluminum cans and makes flowers, anyway?) your work showed us what a smiling queen looks like.  So beautiful. We need more of that. 

Your work was understated. The rings you make do not have to be big. They are big by being small. They do not have to lust after attention. Their tiny simplicity causes one to lean in to get a closer look. Looking for beauty is a movement of desire. The looker wants to look. I wanted more light so I could see more clearly the contours of the piece. So, I held the ring and angled it this way and that closer to the bulb to get a better look. That’s good art, my friend.

Your work was not superficial. It wasn’t merely “pretty.” It was truthful. Your work held two notions in tension: what a thing had been and what it could be. The hopeful aspect of your work is its beauty. In your work truth and beauty are unified.

Some people believe there is no truth. Pilate could see no truth and because of that he could see no beauty in the disfigured Christ and because of that he could see no goodness in the world, only corruption, only a game to be played, politics and perceptions, attempts to placate frustration.

Some people believe in truth but divorce it from beauty and goodness. I saw plenty of this at the show. Pieces that portrayed someone’s reality…they are being truthful, real with how they feel or what they see…but there is no beauty in it.

There are others who wanted to portray beauty…but it was divorced from truth. Their work was pretty but it lacked depth that made you want to keep looking at it, searching for something substantive…feasting instead of snacking on Funyons.

Your display table was too small for the feast you laid out. Your work was true and beautiful and good.

I think your work displayed this because of the person you are and the person you are becoming. Your art reflected the “was, and is and is to come.” Your art had much of the God in you and you in your God.

Your art was not perfect. Maybe that is what I liked best. I like your art because I like the person you are becoming. You are learning to live with the truth that nothing precious should be thrown away like so much trash.

We don’t throw away a marriage thoughtlessly because it’s dented. We work with it. It will become something even more beautiful when we work with it, believing it can become something wonderful. The belief is risky. When you work with something in belief you feel you might just be taking junk and making it a different kind of junk on a different day. It takes guts to work with broken, thrown out things.

But what do you have to lose? Even if it turns out to be the same old junk on a different day the muscles you exercise in working with it make you a better, stronger person…so, either way, the world is better off and so are you and so are we. You’ve got nothing to lose.

I noticed you had love as a centerpiece, too. Love in large red letters, shining with so many marquee lights. I liked that, but you didn’t need it because everything else that was displayed at your booth communicated love. Still, it was good to see.

You had some other words spelled out, too. I liked those best. In particular, the word Freedom. Freedom gives love legs. Without freedom, love isn’t love. To grant and receive freedom is to love and be loved. You are free to be you, tattooed and blue-haired. I am free to be me, pudgy and old, but goofy in my plain ol’ striped shirt. The difference and the love for the difference makes all the difference.

I liked your work best at the art show because it was different than all the others. Your work was redemptive, beautiful, humble, playful, noble, filled with faith and hope, in touch with reality, a reflection of your true self, at peace with imperfection.

My charge to you is this: Stay true to the art in you which is the art beyond you.  

What Holy Ground Feels Like

A scene: we are gathered together, young and old…kids from age 3 to eighth grade, parents in their forties, friends in their twenties.

We make a circle and in the center a story is told with the use of props…some felt, wooden cutouts, a candle, copper wire twisted in the shape of a tree and some stained glass panels.  It’s a familiar Bible story…when God speaks to Moses at the burning bush.  The story goes that Moses’ name means “drawn out” but here in the desert God draws Moses in. So, Moses comes closer to God, attracted by mystery. But Moses cannot come too close.

God says, “Take off your sandals; this is holy ground.”

Later, we wonder about the story and someone asks why God told Moses to take off his sandals. Then another person asks, “What is holy ground, anyway? What made that ground so special?”

We made some interesting observations. Meanwhile, the three-year old played quietly, contentedly in the lap of his sixth-grade friend.

Then I asked, “I wonder what it feels like to be on holy ground?”

 Without hesitation, one of the adults said, “I know. Like that.”

He pointed to the little child, playing.

We knew his answer was perfect.

PlayFull exists to help people and organizations play from the inside-out. We offer training in a unique kind of children’s ministry that integrates the formation of young and old. Write Troy Cady for more information.

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To Be Full of Wonder

“A child’s world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood. If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life, as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantment of later years…the alienation from the sources of our strength.”                     

 –Rachel Carson, The Sense of Wonder*

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*This quote appeared in Plough’s Daily Dig on August 14, 2015.

Awakening

Overnight the

overhead fan

moved the right panel of

the deep red curtain

just inches from closed.

When the sun rose

light’s lips kissed

my closed eyes

till sleep’s mist lifted,

leaving only

the ground of Hope.

The fresh day

has enough alarm

to awaken me from apathy

so I thank you, God,

for the wind

that opens this room up to the Holy

in the night

so I may rise to Rest

in the day.

…………………………………………….

awakening

by Troy Cady

written during The Creative Call PlayGroup

July 23, 2015

Thursday Thought:: Flannery O'Connor on Faith and Certainty

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Note: today's thought is quoted from Plough's Daily Dig; July 9, 2015.

Consolation and Desolation: a reflective exercise

“During the bombing raids of World War II, thousands of children were orphaned and left to starve. The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they received food and good care. But many of these children who had lost so much could not sleep at night. They feared waking up to find themselves once again homeless and without food. Nothing seemed to reassure them. Finally, someone hit upon the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold at bedtime. Holding their bread, these children could finally sleep in peace. All through the night the bread reminded them, ‘Today I ate and I will eat again tomorrow.’”   (from Sleeping with Bread: Holding What Gives You Life by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn and Matthew Linn)

Each day, the authors of this story practice various forms of the Examen. The Examen is a practice that was developed by Ignatius of Loyola and the Jesuits. Most of the time, the authors of this story do the Examen work together. It is a good way to build relationship and receive support from each other. The Examen is predicated on the reality that each day carries with it the potential for one or both of the following: consolation and/or desolation.

“Consolation” is the experience of feeling close to God or others. “Desolation” is the experience of feeling far away. In a simple form of the Examen you could simply ask yourself at the end of the day:

“When did I feel closest to God and when did I feel furthest away?”

Then, in your review, thank God for the times of consolation and ask for God’s help with the times of desolation.

Alternatively, you could consider one of these pairings they include in their book:

For what am I most/least grateful?

When did I feel the most alive? When did I feel life draining out of me?

When did I have the greatest/least sense of belonging to self, others, God?

When was I happiest/saddest?

What was today’s high/low point?

What was invigorating? What was challenging?

Though it is important to consider both the positive and negative, sometimes you may just need to pay attention to the positive. For example, you may want to review your day with this question:

“When did I give/receive the most love?”

 ...or something similar.

Though this is a practice you could use by yourself, it is also great to practice with others. I invite you to consider using this regularly. Don’t make it long...Here is how you could approach it:

1. Decide if you’d like to do a consolation/desolation pairing or solely consider consolation. If you are doing this with others and one person does not feel like doing the pair, simply focus on the consolation part.

2. Pick one of the variations listed above. Which pairing or which question above would you most like to use as a frame for your reflection? Click here for a printable you can use as a reminder of the variations available to you. Feel free to add your own variations to this handy print-out.

3. Light a candle and use it as a visual focus to quiet your heart and mind. Put your hand on your heart for some brief moments as a gesture that you are bringing your heart to the process. Take some moments to reflect silently. Search for your consolation. If you are doing the pair, search for your desolation.

4. Share with each other your consolation and desolation. If you are listening, do not advise, critique or interpret what you have heard. Simply listen. If you feel compelled to comment or notice something, keep your words brief and positive…accepting.

5. When you are finished, take a very brief time to pray…giving thanks for consolation and asking God’s help for desolation.

That’s it. Don’t make it a long, drawn-out thing. Just keep it simple and short.

If you are a parent, keep in mind that this is a simple, doable exercise children can appreciate as well. Do it together as a family. The authors of the book have even had their neighbors join in. It’s a great community building exercise.

I wanted to invite you to practice this because it is a non-threatening way of daily sharing your authentic self with each other without being too “heavy” and raising arguments. It’s a good way to listen to God and each other, to see what God is doing…accepting and appreciating that. Basically, it’s a way to notice what is life-giving to you, holding the bread that helps you rest in God.  

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PlayFull exists to help people and organizations play from the inside-out. We invite you to like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. Thank you for reading.