Thursday, January 18, 2007

The Great Art of Blogging

This morning I ran across this little ditty from Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the great minds of the twentieth century, who spent the last years of his life in prison for his opposition to the Nazi German government during World War II:
We must keep on trying to find our way
through the petty thoughts that irritate us,
to the great thoughts that strengthen us."
This, my friends, is why I blog, whether I realize it or not. I think it's fair to say that I, jaded GenXer that I am, have mastered the art of petty thoughts. But the great art of blogging is, to paraphrase G. K. Chesterton, to air out my self-righteous self-satisfaction and see more clearly the great art of the world around me. I'm reminded of a passage from the biblical book of Lamentations, which is fancy talk for "a profound sense of irritation":

I remember my affliction and my wandering,
the bitterness and the gall.
I well remember them,
and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning.

So, what's irritating you today? What's keeping you going?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This persistant cough that's been plaguing me for days; never being completely satisfied with the day just as it is; getting annoyed about petty details

The knowledge that Christ loves me, pursues me, and goes before me no matter how ugly I feel.

Pete Juvinall said...

Honestly, that I don't feel like I've slept since before Urbana :). Urbana came/went and then it's been one thing after another that's been keeping me up past 12/1 a.m. and up at 6 regularly :\.

Sometimes it's just persistance. I persist in knowing that a loving God has these days outlined; the old hymn (recently redone with a more modern sound that I adore) says it best:

"When the way is dim, and I cannot see/Through the mist of His wise design,/How my glad heart yearns and my faith returns/By the touch of His hand on mine."

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