(Quick watercolor sketch of this week's sunrise)
This week I finished reading a book that is listed on contemporary classics reading lists. The author won the Pulitzer Prize for this particular novel. She portrayed the whole cycle of life and universal story of the destiny of man. Her writing skills fully developed the traits of all her characters and understanding of the times and country in which the story took place. She was authentic in that she wrote from what she truly knew.
But as I inched towards the end of the narrative, something always seemed to elude my grasp. And the very last sentence certainly nailed the lid on the coffin for me! As I closed the book and turned out the light, I felt an emptiness and an unsatisfied yearning from having invested an amount of time in something that didn't offer redemptive returns.
Yes, the book dealt with the grand themes of life, but I felt it did so without offering much in the way of wisdom gained or hope fulfilled on the part of the major character. You kept hoping from one major incident to another that the protagonist would be developing a deeper understanding for life and for what gives it meaning and richness. But I had a sense that he never "got it". End of story. Hmmm.
It's like leaving out the final details and highlights in a painting that make it really sing. It's like composing a symphony and leaving out the final movement bringing back the major themes ramped up and fully developed in a grand way to culmination. I love the arts and I realize that to be true to life, art often grapples with what is ugly or terribly wrong and painful. But somewhere in the context of that, art should offer a glimpse towards growth and understanding and a deeper richness of being. It should offer an open window for the soul to catch sight of what is the true and good and beautiful in life. That is the place where joy can be experienced.
Joy doesn't depend on circumstances and most often develops out of sorrow and overcoming wrong and adversity. But it is something that we can't live without. I am addicted to joy and disappointed when that is not a part of the equation. As C.S. Lewis wrote in his autobiography, Surprised By Joy, "anyone who has experienced it will want it again....I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world." Sherwood Wirt writes that "Joy is not a sentimental word. It has a clean tang and bite to it, the exhilaration of mountain air. It blows away the dustiness of our days with a fresh breeze, and makes life more carefree." The great Creator God has designed us with a capacity for joy. He desires that we be not only filled with joy, but overflowing with it. That is a way I want to live!
I wanted to share this video of a flash mob performing Beethoven's Ode to Joy from his 9th symphony. What I want to highlight is the joy expressed not only by the performers but also by the crowds gathered...from the adults on down to young children. Joy has such universal appeal! Enjoy:
Well, as the Good Book says, "of the making of books, there is no end", and so I'm off to the next classic. And I'll be looking for elements of joy in it as the pages turn.
Live bravely and beautifully!
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