Last Sunday afternoon was a time of intersection: the intersection of traditional music and a modern Spring day, the intersection of drama and scripture,the intersection of a holy teacher’s life and a gruesome, undeserved death.
All of this swirled in me as I attended the “Southern Folk Passion,” an annual service that combines Southern folk hymns that are nearly 200 years old with a dramatic reading of the Passion of Christ from the Gospel of Mark. It was presented by Meridian Herald, a cultural arts group that “exists to promote the interaction of worship, music and culture, bridging communities and traditions of the past and present.”
Though I had heard the reading dozens of times in my life, I was mesmerized by the dramatic presentation from gifted Atlanta actress, Brenda Bynum. Between the music of my ancestors and the vivid retelling of a story that combines faith, betrayal, commitment and sacrifice, it was a transformative afternoon.
I came away thinking about intersections.
We can’t be everything, learn everything, or experience everything. Yet, we want lives and work that are rich with meaning.
Maybe intersections are our best clues to finding experiences that activate a deep, even sacred, sense of purpose in each of us.
Personally, I’ve got this maybe-crazy intersection of helping people create meaningful work and applying social media to amplify their efforts. I hang out at the intersection of geek and woo.
Some days it feels like putting a tutu on a bulldog – cute, but slobbery and ridiculous. And that’s okay; we learn. Other days, well, it’s like the Southern Folk Passion: unexpected, challenging and energizing.
And on those days… I am grateful down to my toes.
How can we cross live wires – things that truly light us up - within ourselves and between each other to create a spark of something completely new? What is your creative intersection?
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So, Ms. Math Major, does that mean we can invoke the principle of duality for sets? If this is a truth of intersections, what is the complementary truth of unions? Does each intersection open our eyes to a larger universe? If we share an intersection then we also share a complement of that intersection – a space with room to encompass where we’re different.
Extending the metaphor (which you know I’m going to do), is this why when we pay attention to the Venn diagram of life and move to our meaningful intersections that we feel more in harmony with all and less troubled by our differences?
David Cohen´s last blog ..Looking for work? Get fired!
@David: Yes.
Laurie Foley´s last blog ..The Intersection of Geek and Woo
@David – Seriously, I did tell you that my area was APPLIED math, yes? You’re gettin’ all theoretical on me – and very Gestalt to boot. I really, really like the idea of the intersections opening us to possibilities – thin places, perhaps? Shall we move to theoretical physics? Thanks for coming out to play with my Inner Math Major.
Laurie Foley´s last blog ..The Intersection of Geek and Woo
Hmmm, the Venn diagram of life….I like that! I think I’ll sketch one today. Really cool concept. I always love your posts — but when you whip out the theoretical physics, I’m out
Just kidding, of course — I know you could find a way to make even THAT interesting, in the playground of geek and woo.
Lynn Hess´s last blog ..Hey, check me out! I’m an official Hay House New Release Reviewer! Sweet!