A different dance...

We listen, but can we hear?

We see, but do we understand?

– Anonymous

As the film draws to an end, Eli has made his way across the country carrying the book.  I had seen the film before...it is violent, and the purpose for all of the mayhem seemed somewhat obscure.  He arrives at Alcatraz in a small boat, and after clearing security in this post-apocalyptic world; he is ushered into a room. 

Eli says he has the book and asks the man to bring paper…a lot of paper.  He then instructs him to be sure to write the words exactly as he says them, and he begins,

“Verse one - In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

“Verse two - And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

“Verse three - And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.”

The “Book of Eli” – the film’s title – is really the Book IN Eli, for his task is to recite the Bible he has memorized so that it may be restored once again to a world that has lost its great literature.

Familiarity…

I have known these words for decades…they are wrapped deeply and intimately around the neurochemistry of my mind.  They are profound and rich and mysterious and elusive and beyond any real understanding.  These expressive words writers were inspired to record – or were inspired to speak – provide a sense of connection when we are unable to wrap our minds around the reality of the unknown…around the “…thick darkness…” – As Thomas Aquinas says, the things beyond our understanding we call God.

Hearing these familiar words, however, through the weary voice of Denzel Washington’s character Eli, found a spot inside that was so intimate; I am unable to find the words to describe.  They were spoken slowly, softly, caressed by the fertility of a gift honed over decades to impart feeling to the listener.  The actor taking text, mixing it in some sort of secret spiritual sauce and sending them in a way that connected with ‘me’…you know the little creature that looks out at the world through television cameras we call eyes, and picks up sounds through those intricate stereophonic microphones we call ears…the ‘me!’ – the ‘all of us.’  For some…surely not all…when those words arrive, they bring a sense of comfort and belonging.  I had taken a break from a project and was flipping through the channels when they came for me…when they came for me.

Mystery of the ‘what is’…

It is a marvelous thing when something so basic as the vibrating of air at certain frequencies can find places inside of us that we, left to our own devices, could never find on our own.  No man is an island?  Well, that’s not right…every man is an island…an island that needs to bridge the gap with other islands.  A dance can only really have meaning when two move together as one – finding unity in rhythm and rhyme.  Certainly one can dance alone, but there is something about the conversation of two, by whatever means it happens, that transcends the monologue of being alone.

This, of course, is the aim of all spiritual teachings…the journey to ‘find our place’ in a world that seems, in many ways, ‘place – less.’  While for many, it is difficult enough to find a partner with which to dance in our busy day-to-day lives – how many really deep and rich friends does each of us have? 

Finding a way to dance with the Creator of the universe?  Well, that is a different kettle of fish, and yet we are a part of this universe and we do have some level of intelligence…aren’t we?  Don’t we?

Maybe this is why prophets and seers and other “…strangers and pilgrims…” on the earth – those who have found a connection – are driven to share.  Maybe this is why so many of us yearn to feel meaning in relation to the greater unknown…desire to transcend our day to day lives through the promise of a better day or better days…the hunger to break the surface of the water for a truly lung full of fresh and life giving air.

A little context…

As a youngster, I was brought up in the tradition of Christian thought through the scripture.  It came to me in a loving, nonjudgmental home where ‘lives lived’ overshadowed ‘words spoken.’  The words simply provided structure…a recipe so to speak…for the examples put before me by two faithful and caring spiritual guardians.  When the words, however, were spoken or read, I found them compelling in rhythm and tone.

Over the years, I have found myself drawn toward spiritual thought of all cloaks and colors – eastern…western…new age – curious as to what people have thought or think concerning the ‘whys’ of life.  I love to read what these special people have to say…how they see their journey; better said, how they see...how they find ‘meaning - place’ in a world into which we have all been thrust.  After all, none of us asked to show up, and yet here we are, aren’t we?

Bumps and curves…

Some of the things I have explored are complicated indeed, full of vocabularies that need to be learned long before any understanding emerges.  Grasping ideas often takes decades, and in the end for many, the promise of freedom turns dull and shapeless.

And then unexpectedly, simple words spoken through an actor in a film come with a towering richness that reminded me yet once again, of the power of simple and direct words…simple in structure…immeasurable in magnitude. 

In the beginning for all of us, a creation needs to take place.  The earth of our minds is without form…it is void.  And yet the spirit of God – the creative intelligence of the universe of which we are a conscious integrated part – moves upon the life force within each of us…drawing us forward through curiosity and a hunger to survive – the creative intelligence of the universe speaks to us through an instinct to survive, and gives us light…a beacon just past the horizon toward which, in whatever manner, we find ourselves compelled.

As I heard those words, in that unexpected moment, in the middle of my working day, I was reminded why I come back again and again to the scripture in which I was raised…to the words from which I have found comfort…to the dance partner within that is always looking for ways to commune with me in a primal rhythm that has always been.  The music began; it was familiar, and in those brief and fleeting moments, I was complete.

- ted