While My Guitar Gently Weeps
So. i've been thinking a lot about George Harrison. Some of you might think that's strange because my son is named after a Paul McCartney song. But as luck would have it, George has been for quite some time my favorite beatle. He has written some of my favorite Beatle songs, and i think i liked him because he was the underdog, the forgotten-overlooked on in the McCartney-Lennon battles. Anyway, I recently read a "biography" of George called "I, Me, Mine" and it was more then a biography, in fact, the biography section was very short, and 2/3 of the book was actually the lyrics to George's songs and stories about why he wrote them and what they were about etc. Mostly very interesting.
I came across one section in his book, as he was describing one of his songs that caught my attention and i want to share it with you here.
"The things that most people are struggling for is fame, or fortune, or wealth, or position; always that's their main ambition and desire in life, to be rich or famous, or to have a good reputation. And really, none of that is important because in the end, death will take it all away"
I love that quote, cause it diagnoses how we live our lives, and how futile our pursuit of these things really is. For George he pursued faith, it wasn't Christian faith, but it was his faith and all the things that it brought with it, that was complete pursuit of George Harrison. And to be honest, i admire it. George's faith changed his life completely. It changed the clothes he wore, the books he read, the music he wrote, the people he spent time with, the conversations he had, everything became about his faith. And that is admirable. As i look at my own life i see changes in me. Things that i would not have done had it not been for my faith, but when i look at my devotion compared to George's i feel like i fall short. Perhaps it's because his celebrity allowed him to have a more widespread and influential platform from which to share his beliefs, but also because he dove into his faith, fully, without resevation and hesitation, and was happy and confidant in sharing it with other people. And i think to myself, if someone who followed a faith that i believe to be untrue in the end can be so strongly devoted and make such a differance in people's lives, where am I, and what am I doing to live my faith as "Wholly" as George Harrison did. Still my favorite Beatle, even though 90% of his songs post-beatles were somehow about or connected to his faith, which to me, made it less exciting to read about and or even listen to.
posted by Shaolin @ 12:01 PM
4 Comments:
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Intriguing... You know, I couldn't Remember George's name when looking at a Beetle poster. I asked my friends to name all the Beetles and with no effort they named all accept George.
It wasn't until days later that it came to me. Must have been hard to live in the shadows of the rest.
On a more serious note. Is it wise to admire a devotion towards destruction. It seems our culture fights for nothing else then the fact that what I believe is right for me...
That faith and religion is a personal endeavor not to be challenged and tampered by the outside world. And to challenge someone to seeing the fault of their world-view is the only sin one can commit.
Thoughts?
So, i had to read your comment a couple times before i got the idea...more based on my slowness then anything else i think...and i might not still totally get what you are saying...but here goes...
the comment that stuck out the most was "is it wise to admire a devotion towards destruction?"
here is my not thought out at length answer. I don't admire George's devotion because i believe that all roads lead to heaven, and that other faiths are just all right with me, as long as it's all right with you. I admired it, because it showed a deficiancy in my own faith and practise. I admire it even more because i believe that what George was devoted to was not in the end "right", and so if i believe what i believe "is right" how much more faithful and devoted should i be to my own faith and relationship with God? If that makes sense. I'm not a liberal hippie...at least i don't think i am...i wonder what Brian McLaren thinks.
No, I didn't think you a Universalist. I can understand your admiration for one to be so devoted to something, and how it can shame us in our lack of devotion to God.
I was just curious in my own mind and was curious to hear if you thought it wise to even to admire George for his devotion in his faith. That would he be such a great example for your own life, since his devotion was not towards the most High?
I didn't really ask the question with an answer in my mind, but more of a inquiry for your opinion.
Does that make sense.
And personally, I could care less what Brian McLaren thinks... ;O)
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