Life is Better Lived

At the risk of sounding obsessed, I need to mention John Mayer again.  I went to a concert of his a few years back and experienced one of the most annoying things that happens at concerts.  I was excited to see John Mayer play live because I had heard that he is an amazing guitar player (which he is) and though you get a glimpse of that on his records, nothing compares to his live shows.  During the song Gravity, which is a slow-burning blues song, John just starts jamming.  It was gorgeous but, to my utter disgust, I hear some guy a few seats away practically screaming to his friend.  “Man, this guy can play!  Just stick him up there with a guitar and he’ll blow your mind all night.  Man, that’s awesome!”  It took a lot of patience not to leap over the stadium chairs and pummel him.  I did shush him, however, and got a dirty look from him for the rest of the show. 

Not only was he talking during a concert (something I find extremely rude), but he was talking about how good John Mayer was during one of the best solos of the night.  If he loved John’s playing so much, why couldn’t he just shut up and listen?!?  His friend would have gotten a lot clearer idea of how good John Mayer’s playing is if he was actually permitted to listen.  It still baffles me to this day!

As I think back to that night, after pushing back the anger, I realize I’m not too different from that obnoxious concert talker.  But it’s not a concert I’m talking through, it's life.  Yes, I’m starting to realize that I spend too much time thinking and talking about life, rather than just living it.  I’m constantly longing for wisdom in each situation, hoping to make the best possible choice.  This, in and of itself, is not necessarily bad, but I’ve become so crippled with the fear of making the “wrong” decision that I over think everything, making simple choices into long drawn-out philosophical debates in my head that I obsess about. 

Wisdom can only get you so far.  Like I mentioned in my previous entry, we all seem to be swinging tirelessly for the answers to life, but have neglected things like love and relationship.  Maybe that’s why Solomon, supposedly the wisest man to live, said

“For with much wisdom comes much sorrow;

the more knowledge the more grief.” –Ecclesiastes 1:18

For Solomon, though he had gained much wisdom and insight, it was all meaningless in the end. 

Again, having wisdom and knowledge are great jewels in life, but they can’t be your life.  Music is better heard than read about, a beautiful sunset is better seen than talked about, and life is better lived than thought about.  And the same can be said about God.  People spend so much time reading and talking about God that they forget to be in relationship with Him, and talk to Him.  I believe God is much more of an experience, better expressed through art and acts of love, than some great philosophical idea to be debated.

I love bikes, and I love to cycle.  I obsess about bikes, and I can spend countless hours reading news and looking at pictures and daydreaming about what I want to buy next for my bike.  But what good is all this if I never actually get on my bike and ride? 

So, I'm going to do my best to stop obsessing about life and actually start living it.  This does not mean I will throw all caution to the wind, but life demands action and so does faith.  And for me, action and faith requires me to let go of fear and shame.  I will do the best I can with what I know at the time and then pray that God's grace and mercy are sufficient (which they are).

So, here's to life!