And what is good, Phaedrus? And what is not good?
Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?
- Plato, Symposium
I'm off for a week ... enjoy.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
We have all the knowledge we need
- Plato, Symposium
I'm off for a week ... enjoy.
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3 comments:
I'm in the middle of the North Sea at the moment, returning from a cruise in the Baltic. On the one hand I read on the internet this morning - and hear from my fellow passengers - about foiled bomb plots on planes, and on the other there's minimal employment of little grey cells on board ship - for the passengers anyway. (I hope the crew have got their wits about them, we're forcast gales in Dogger soon.)
The point is that this site is currently the best company right now and I'm delighted to return to it after a holiday.
A blog is not a very subtle mode of communication, we can't see each others' faces or hear each others' voices - and there have been occasional misunderstandings - but it has a large capacity and it's particularly effective at challenging limitations and sometimes stepping out of them with amazing speed. There have been times when I've been almost breathless with 'on the instant' connections. Oh, the joy of putting grey to the back of the picture!
So, let's keep up the conversation, as V has said. It's worth it. Offer our best with the knowledge we have, not to worry if a post flounders or diverts, and build up our strength and understanding.
Vayukesha has posted since I was here this morning so (still in the North Sea)may I add my request to his that we all consider his latest post as a next step forward?
Since this morning I've sung in the scratch ship's choir. We've had several choir practices, sung at a church service and are about to give a short concert in an hour's time. It's been humbling to observe my own shortcomings in this respect:
a) the difficulty of singing notes which are not those of the tune as given by the piano, in other words really listening to the sound and sticking to the line;
b) the desire, as an alto, to act like a soprano and go soaring over all, rather than giving out the alto measure; and
c) what close harmony really means, quite subtle this, e.g., two notes only two spaces apart but, if they are to be in harmony, then neither must slide into the other; and
finally, the happiness of singing together.
What I take from this is that, in a part-work - if it is to be beautiful - each singer must sing his or her note, irrespective of distractions from other singers but, at the same time, listen with the other ear to the whole.
And so, I feel, with this blog and this conversation.
That's an interesting musical analogy Laura. I remember a sounding session on a residential where we were asked to just hear a note, any note, in our minds then when indicated allow it to be sounded. It was, of course, a collective cacophany, but what I learnt here was how easy it was to be distracted by the person next to me if they had a strong, confident sound. (comes back to the earlier 'sounding confident' discussion.) In this instance, what was obvious was that there was no 'right' answer, yet I doubted myself. Why is this? What is the mechanism at work that makes some sound more authoritative than others? And why be swayed by it?
So, like you say, the question is how to sound our own note within the whole? Without being swayed or wishing to sway others?
The following is also, in my mind, related:
One of the monks asked the great teacher Abba Nistero:
"What should I do for the best in life?"
And the abba answered:
"All works are not equal.
The scripture says that Abraham was hospitable,
and God was with him;
it says Elias loved quiet,
and God was with him;
it says that David was humble,
and God was with him.
So, whatever path you find your soul longs after
in the quest for God,
do that, and always watch over your heart's integrity."
The Book of Mystical Chapters
Tr. John Anthony McGuckin
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