“You have more love to receive,” she felt was his response.

“Then let me know all of your love,” my friend said to God.

“Oh, dear child, that you cannot contain.”

The kicking line starts at about 2:30…
“Will you forget when we have paid our debt,
who did we borrow from, who did borrow from?”

I think George Straight was saying the same thing, also in relational context, yet in more direct language:

“The other option?” you may ask.

Categorize people, and yourself, as either, 1) humble or 2) prideful. These two categories are not pin point locations but rather regions that have a continuum we may find ourselves on. And one warning: there is no hierarchy here (so many will not like it), but there is genuine compassion and love.

“He did not seem to hear me. But a few moments later he put his hand on mine and his eyes clearly indicated that I should lean closer. He then said very slowly, but altogether distinctly, the following words, which I record here exactly: What does it matter? All is grace.

He died, I believe, just after.”

- Georges Bernanos
Diary of a Country Priest

- William Rees (1802-1883)

Now, according to the documentary, the teacher unions began decades ago when teachers needed to fight for some basic rights and systems to be put into place for their benefit, but today the unions are powerhouse political machines that protect the teachers’ self-interest at the detriment of the students. This self-interest is seen in the inability of educational leadership to create much of any change to the system and the teachers in the system. The unions simply don’t allow it, and they put political pressure on whomever they need to in order to make sure change that will create discomfort for teachers is not allowed. All of this is of course self-interest that eats away at the very good the teachers began teaching for, the unions were created for, and the education the students need. (This is all according to the documentary and not to my personal research so forgive me if I don’t give another opinion on the issue of unions and the cause for our education problem.)

Now, on to my same point in a second film. Last week I watched the movie, The Help, based on the New York Times Bestseller book titled the same. The film is about segregation and racism in the everyday life in the South in the 60’s. The movie shows the humanity and goodness of a group of black women who work as maids and nannies to upper-middle class white families. These black women are good enough to care for the children but are not allowed to use the same glasses the white people use to drink water or the same toilets the white people sit on, not to mention public restaurants and schools.

An undercurrent in the film is the idea that many of the white people knew the entire system of segregation and prejudice was wrong, but they were unwilling to say or do anything about it – for fear of being socially rejected or even violence coming toward them. This was a real fear that threatened the white people’s jobs and families. We all behave in response to fear, and I’m not sure if I’d have the courage to stand for what is right in that sort of climate — I hope so, I really hope so, but I’m not sure. And my point is I think it is important to recognize the danger of such self-interest. When we don’t fear self-interest we instead fear anything that challenges our comfort, which then in turn releases self-interest to destroy some measure of good in our society, family, or life.

Pearl Jam 20 just released, a documentary directed by Cameron Crowe over-viewing their rise to success. It’s a fascinating two hours of entertainment and education, but I found this clip of Vedder winning the Grammy the most. At first I dismissed his comments as rude — to want to create stellar music for people to hear, then to trivialize an award recognizing that seemed, well, ridiculous.

But I kept thinking about this — Why would he say this? What is he trying to say?

I think he’s saying the award, the pinnacle of the path is not all it’s cracked up to be. He’s saying the pinnacle is just another place. So, if this is true, and you’ve exalted the pinnacle — the Grammy, the money, the fame — you will be disillusioned as it ultimately doesn’t mean anything. There’s a secret only the rich and famous seem to know — that being rich and famous is not better, just different.

The Pearl Jam documentary is a fascinating study on fame and the way people react to it. Some do drugs, some kill themselves, and others say things like Vedder, degrading the award or the success, when really it is the over-exaltation of the pinnacle that deserves our criticism and sadness.

My attention wasn’t caught by the passing cars, fields, or farms that tend to pull my eye and my mind. All I had to see was the one hundred lit yards that my headlights afforded me. I tuned my iPod to Sara Groves, Mumford and Sons, and The Avett Brothers. I listened to Tim McGraw and Coldplay, and in the dark the music ceased to just be background music but somehow became a real voice to an otherwise busy mind.

With the removal of distractions I was able to hear the music better, and I can’t help but wonder if this is why our vision for our lives is so restricted – that we might hear the music better.