There is such a thing as beauty. It's real, and it exists today. Where does it come from? What causes it?
Last night I attended a Sigur Ros concert in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It made me stop to remember things. They were singing in Icelandic so I couldn't understand any of the words, yet the feeling I had was with perfect clarity. It's not often I can silence myself in order to receive this sort of feeling. Can anybody out there relate to this experience? I don't want to trivialize it with a lot of words, but I knew something real during that concert.
Please, I want to hear about the beauty that we know and experience. It doesn't have to be a concert, just think about it and talk about it. It's good to remember things.
P.S. This Saturday (25th) at 7 PM is the next gathering. If you need directions, get in touch with me. All are welcome
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11 comments:
One interesting note about the show was that not everyone would agree that it was beautiful. What felt so clearly wonderful to me, that had undeniable beauty... was boring to somebody else we talked with after the show.
Beauty can't be tied down and manufactured. It's hard for me to handle that sometimes, b/c if you experience it, it's like you know that it's there. If somebody else doesn't, you can't help but think that they could if they tried harder... or something.
I was at both of the Sigur Ros shows that night (Feb. 18) In fact I am listening to a bootleg of it as I write. I cannot let the show go. I keep going back to the album and the live recording. For the first time I understand super fans who follow an artist to every show for a week. I think the music works so well in part because it is abstract. Unlike pop and text driven music it does not tell you what is saying. The music suggests things but you can fill in the images. The image I keep coming to is the Throne coming down out of Heaven to the New City on Earth to stay there for ever. It is surrounded by the six wing Seraphs and others. This music is what I hear as I come up on the backside of the Throne from a far distance around a bend in the road. It is only an approximation of the sound but closer than most anything else I have heard.
When Christine and I were studying in Europe, we visited many art museums and felt what you described many times, but the most amazing experience was being in the Sistine Chapel. All of the art, history, and philosophy that came together in a place of worship was overwhelming.
I don't think beauty can truly be defined; we know it when we see it.
You dont' always have to understand or even comprehend something to know it's beautiful. The truth is that if it reaches out to you in a way you can't explain and pulls you deep into it's realm it has become part of you which causes you to see it's stripped beauty for what it IS not for what you think it should BE. The heart and sometimes mind can lead you to places that normally you woulnd't go in a logical or rational world, but where it has lead me a few times struck me as odd, but I found beauty there in a way that without experiencing it that certain way I feel I might have missed the beauty that is unexplained. I'm glad we find beauty to be different and I try to help people see it the way I do, but the truth is they never will because their perception is different and the great thing is you get to share the difference and embrace each others own beauty. Though I have to say that some people are lucky and find someone who sees what they see or at least the same level and you don't have to tell them how it is, you just tell them to look!
I sometimes find things more beautiful BECAUSE it's not part of my culture, if that makes sense. So my culture has no appreciation for this, and part of that is what makes me connect to it. Perhaps that suggests that I have a lack of patriotism.
My great friend Josh moved to China several years back, and this gave him a swift kick to the head concerning these types of questions and many more. I got kicked a little also as a result. Getting a peak into another culture exposes yours for what it isn't.
Sadly, we here in America typically don't approach other cultures as vessels of beauty and mystery. We see them more as confusing, threatening to our way of thinking, and in some cases... opportunities for exploitation.
Like I said, I don't know what these men from Iceland were singing about, and I never truly will. I feel that a key step in making America the kind of place to be proud of is to seek outside help. This is also true of myself as a person. The more help I get from people/things I don't understand, the wider my perspectives will be, which will grow my wisdom.
I don't know if I totally agree with the Amercia threatened by other cultures statement. We find all this music and movies here so that they can be shared. Not all of it is embraced and I agree with that portion of your statement, however I believe that other cultures often look at our way of life as unacceptable or immoral. A lot of this statement is based around religion, but I beleive that it taps into other issues as well. So would it be fair to say that all cultures have reservations about other cultures way of life and choices they make. I think it's those individuals in our world who search other cultures and explore their way of life to find beauty that can make a difference in the world not just America.
well yes, I agree completely that America is not alone in this attitude. But we living in America are trying to influence our specific culture by acknowledging this attitude and trying to change it. If you are just trying to say that it's not just Americans who are threatened by outside cultures (or things they don't understand), then I'm with you. If you don't believe America ever has this attitude, then please explain more why you feel that way.
This isn't about America, I'm just talking about it as an example b/c it's what I live and what I know. I won't ever fully understand the Icelandic men b/c I will never have grown up in Iceland with them. I can try my best to understand now, but like Benjie said, without the cultural "training" my understanding will always be incomplete.
Christians need to understand this about the Bible and about Jewish history. Western Christians aren't interested (typically) in understanding Jewish culture and history. The depth that we miss out on is frightening at times. It's a side point, but one that ties in for me.
I beleive America has this attitude as well towards other cultures, but I wanted to make the point that we are not alone in our thoughts and that we are rediculed the most about religion and what we beleive in. Especially about women in our society, they think we should be above them, well i'm not above any women nor do I think this way. I believe in standing by a womens side and making her just as important if not more as I am in our relationship.
I totally agree with Benji's comment about training yourself as well but their are some things that I will never do, just because of my moral standards I have placed upon myself, which has to do alot with God's will not mine. I really want to hear this band now rye, it has peaked my interest.
Yeah Arnold, you should really check them out. They're totally one of our alltime favorite bands. What do you think could be asked of you in the name of "training" that you wouldn't do on moral grounds? I'm just wondering what you had in mind when you made that statement.
Some training would consist of altering my thought process on certain issues that come from other cultures. Like the way women are treated in Iraq or Afganistan, I could not alter my thinking to treat women that way or giving them rules in which to follow when I believe highly in individualism.
If I was asked to live their and follow their rules I don't think I could do it, because of my personal beliefs. If we are just talking music then I would most of the time try to train myself to understand why they find this music or movie to be art and what they did to create something that would be considered art in it's own form. I love creativity and anyone who tries to be creative I give them credit for trying something new even if it has been done before and they just put their own spin on things. Art is an expression of ones self and I love learning new perspectives and what it does to my life. You your self have opened my mind to plenty of new artists which I enjoy listening to and find beautiful.
Actually my upbringing as nothing to do with the way I think. If I thought how I was raised and continued on the path I was following I would be dead because of conformity. So not until later in my life did I realize about how I worked and Movies actually showed me that. One of my favorite all time movies Dead Poets Society with Robin Williams Changed and Saved my life. It helped me see deeper into my soul and understand who I was as a person and most importantly who I could be if I just worked hard and kept a positve foward motion. That's interesting that you got to meet this gentlemen he sounds well rounded by cultures. And that's crazy a thousand years I guess they just appreciate their music or don't like change. I don't look back and make fun of older artists and their music, but their style however is fair game( meaning hair and clothes.) Because that's funny stuff.
Especially Flock of Seagulls. We all have our own styles, but we only reinvent the wheel it least alot of mainstream artist's do. As far as Artists who write prepare music and sing their own songs I give them the full credit they deserve even if they do suck in my point of view He He!
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