Delfeayo, Conquistadors, Pharisees, and Wisdom

It is so easy to overlook the wondrous things around us. Though they are always there, or perhaps because they are always there, we take them for granted. This spring I have been on a conscious quest to make some time to appreciate at least a few of these things.

In the past few months I have discovered Franklin, St. Francisville and the Clark Creek Natural Area and rediscovered Grand Isle, Mandeville, Abita Springs, Ponchatoula, and several other relatively nearby locales that I have long taken for granted.

In keeping with my motif of getting out and doing things I have not done before and discovering and rediscovering my own back yard, I did something this weekend that I had never done before.

Just up the road, about an hour away, lies New Orleans. The wealth and diversity of cultural and epicurean delights to be found there are virtually endless. Now, I have lived between one hour and one half hour from N'awlins all of my life, and yet had never been to a jazz club. Can you imagine living that close to the home town of Harry Connick Jr., Wynton Marsalis, Irma Thomas, and multitudes of other notable musicians, a place where you can find world-class jazz pretty much any night of the week, any week of the year, and never having taken advantage of that?

Now, in my defense, I just wasn't raised that way. Having grown up in a pentecostal church, in my mind jazz clubs were smoke-filled, tawdry, dens of iniquity wreaking of cheap cologne and stale booze, ... or cheap booze and stale cologne. And you could definitely make the case that there was little reason for a good Christian man to be in that environment. And there are many places in the French Quarter like that, places there would be little reason for me to patronize.

But, there are also some real gems to be found. I, and a couple of dear friends, found just such a little nook and enjoyed a wonderful evening of music provided by a member of one of New Orleans' premier musical families, Delfeayo Marsalis, and his band.

The scene I beheld was exactly NOT what I expected or had long envisioned. Instead of drunks trying to hit on my friends, I saw nice, polite people of many ethnicities enjoying very sophisticated music. I saw an older couple tenderly holding hands during a particularly romantic tune with a long lulling trombone solo. The mood was happy and the music was great. Musically I heard intricate melodies, subtle phrasing, complex chord constructs, mathematical rhythms, and a joyous energy that ranged from frenetic to genuinely romantic in the best sense of the word.

Preconceptions are very rarely accurate. Whether they be about people, places, or things, they usually mislead us ... and you know what they say about when we ass-u-me ...

Sometimes we have a gut reaction upon meeting someone that turns out to be exactly right. Other times, we make assumptions or sweeping generalizations, sight unseen, based upon no information, or second hand information, that lead us to faulty conclusions and preclude us from experiencing all of the good things that God provides for our enjoyment. I was recently speaking with a friend about these things. We ended up exchanging cliches like "don't throw out the baby with the bath-water" and "eat the fish, but spit out the bones". Sometimes cliches stick around for a reason - they encapsulate a fundamental truth about life.

Unfortunately we, as Christians, are sometimes the very worst regarding this. In our vain attempts to portray ourselves as what we believe appears spiritual and holy, we end up like the Pharisees, believing that holiness is derived by not going certain places, not eating certain things, and not interacting with publicans and sinners. This leads to an arrogance that is very unappealing to the very people we say we hope to win to God's Kingdom.

I am reminded of some of the first missionaries to the new world.. On the whole, they simply trashed the local religions. This stands in sharp contrast to the way Paul used the Athenians belief in an "Unknown God" as a starting point to bring them knowledge of The One True God. I believe that we make the same mistake when we simply trash other's way of life. It would be more profitable to start where they are and show the way from there.

For instance, it seems to me that starting with the beauty, emotion, and mathematical structure of music and working toward God from there, is much more in keeping with Paul's methods and much more effective than simply saying repent, you evil man with your devil music!

Of course, as with all things, there is balance in this. I am not saying that we should all get out and start going to clubs and that if you don't you're a Pharisee! I guess I'm just saying that we should not simply dismiss things out of hand. Maybe we should give a little thought and some prayer as to what things we do or do not do, and why we do or do not them.

This requires wisdom. Happily, this is something that, when asked for, God gives liberally.

plumb my depths

look deep into my eyes
the windows of my soul beckon

do not avert your gaze
plumb my depths

can you fathom the pain you see
does it touch your stone cold heart

is shame or guilt awakened when you ponder what you have done

look deeper still
the windows of my soul offer no resistance

do not squelch your curiosity
plumb my depths

can you fathom the strength residing there
does it shock your preconceptions

is understanding awakened when you behold my visage set like flint

look once more
the windows of my soul are unshuttered

do not fear your fate
plumb my depths

can you fathom forgiveness you do not deserve
does it soften your critical nature

is repentance so hard knowing mercy trumps judgment

in my eyes

in my eyes you were goodness itself
i saw in you everything that i idealized

perhaps i saw through rose colored glasses
perhaps what you once were, you are no longer

has my vision become clearer
or have you morphed into a different creature

now i see only deception and unfaithfulness
the hollow, soulless shell of one i loved dearly

i steal a glance into your vacuous gaze
there is no life, no light, no beauty

the starkness moves me to tears

Sometimes I Really Love My Job or What's In A Name?

Sometimes enjoying the simplest little things in life can make a day great.

Today I traveled a scenic highway from Nacogdoches, Texas to Natchitoches, Louisiana (practically the same pronunciation).

Along the way I noticed a hair salon called "Curl Up and Dye" -

just past Lickskillet Road.

What a great day ... probably the best since I first came across Kickappoo Road ...

I would love to know the back story behind the name Lickskillet Road ... Kickapoo Road ... not so much.

poetic release

a treasure once hidden is now revealed
feelings find release in newfound freedom

a heart lies broken and bleeding
a quill drinks in the blood and the angst

a virgin page is sacrificed
the offering is exquisite, bringing release

reverently we watch as past hurts, like wisps of toxic smoke, drift away and dissipate