Smoke and Mirrors

Just got back from a few days in Chicago. While there I took in two theatre performances, Enron and The Ghost is Here which shared a curious reality although not connected in any historical or cultural way. Enron, by the TimeLine company, puts on display the ego and arrogance of those at the top who orchestrated  the financial plummet in value of many a corporate and personal portfolio along with many retirement investment accounts, even of its own people. The Ghost is Here, by the DCA Storefront Theater, told the tale of an entrepreneur after World War II and his attempt to use a cultural belief system to create a personal fortune.

Both performances challenged the adage, "You can't get something for nothing." Indeed, both major characters were able to sell nothing for a great amount of something. Apparently, if you have nothing but can convince others it is something or will be something, they are willing to give up their hard earned, tangible something for it. What is the it? Nike knows, "Image is Everything." Both major characters, with the help of witting and unwitting accomplices, were able to sell their actual nothing for the promise of a future, tangible something.

Soon, nothings were backed up by deeper nothings and supported by more nothings, all well demonstrated and hidden by numbers, false testimonials, fear, doubt, and greed. The only place where nothings were replaced by tangible somethings was in the bank accounts of the major characters, the spinners of the smoke and mirrors. After getting home, I watched Fosse, a show highlighting the many shows by Bob Fosse, and there within the presentations was a song from the musical Chicago entitled "Razzle-Dazzle."

I walked away wondering how much of my life and future security are based upon tangible realities, realities that could not be taken away if all the nothings in my life blew away in the wind. Realities that could sustain me, body and soul, if all the nothings were shown to be empty promises, phantoms that would disappear in the light of tangible truth or painful trauma. Am I spending my creative years, my energies, my resources building a tower of shadows whose promises were given me by others who have no real concern about my body or soul, much less their own?

Curiously, I realized that many of those things that are part of my core, if you will, are also tangibly invisible. Love, lore, spirit, soul, even family and friendships are essentially invisible to the senses yet bring with them life and possibility. So what's the difference between those who have shown me the invisible ways of love, soul, spirit? One most important distinction. These have been given to me as a pouring out and not as a response to my depleting my own resources, sometimes poured out even when I did not readily recognize their value.

During one part of Ghost, the main character takes out a handkerchief and asks how much the handkerchief is worth. The answer is, "Whatever people are willing to pay for it." So how much is our soul worth? What will we trade it/her for? Do we sell our soul for a future built on nothings and empty promises? And if we do, how do we ever find soul in the moment we are in?


PS. I love the soulful arts as they are the heart and the conscience of a culture.

Inside Job

“Inside Job”

I have to tell you that I like movies. Not any movie, I have some dignity, but I like to watch movies with popcorn and soda in hand. A friend of mine, after an interesting conversation, recommended I watch Inside Job. Well, last evening I sat down to watch it with my wife. After about 45 minutes, she had to leave the room and I had no interest in my popcorn and soda. If there ever was a movie that would prove we no longer live in a souled nation, it was this movie.

            It also reminds me of a sermon I offered before the recent crash that contrasted capitalism, Christianity, and democracy, or at least the ways they have been playing out in the United States. At that time I stated that often the ruling power in this trinity of American virtues was capitalism. Often, as a nation, we say that we are entering international conflicts to spread democracy but, underlying that public persona, economic concerns are at the core. I do not see us planning to enter dictatorial or communist countries where we are happily trading. If democracy was truly the driving force, we would hear of our strict and strong demands on Saudi Arabia and China, for example, to make their governments democratic. Cash trumps conscience. Dividends and golden parachutes erode what remains of our democracy.

There are any number of passages from multiple religious texts that relate to the way money and the love of money cuts us off from each other, from God, and the blessings God gives to a compassionate people and nation. After watching the movie, it was clear that those who are controlling the financial markets do not have a soul-based ethic as their “inside job.” Because you can read the religious texts easily enough, I want to offer something that was sent to me through the internet. It may not be from who it is proposed to represent but I believe the words have value and certainly relate to a soulful way of life. It’s called

Gandhi’s 7 Dangers to Human Virtue

1)      Wealth without work

2)      Pleasure without conscience

3)      Knowledge without character

4)      Business without ethics

5)      Science without humanity

6)      Religion without sacrifice

7)      Politics without principle

I now have a greater respect for the OWS movement. However, I believe true change can only come about after we let compassionate souls “occupy” our hearts and our decisions.

Just sayin…..

Souling Revised

After the October entry, more thought. Heart, Mind, and Spirit with the overlapping center as the space of Souling. We can all be pulled into one sphere being dominant but if we go too far, our balance - our center is lost. Only in the moment of Heart, Mind, and Spirit coming together and being incarnate (Body) can Souling take place.