Alone

Two articles published online last week stood in stark contrast to each other. The press release from the Mercer survey reported that Vancouver, British Columbia is once again in the top five most liveable cities in the world.1 Vancouver has ranked as high as number one in previous surveys and is always in the top ten cities of the world. The other article was published in the Globe and Mail and reported the findings of a "Table Discussion" carried out by the Vancouver Foundation.2 They set out to determine the key issues for members of the Vancouver community. One would predict that such concerns as homelessness and affordable housing would be on the list; and indeed they were. But what is surprising is that the survey showed that "the top issue on the minds of the majority of those being interviewed was not one that had been in the headlines: the growing sense of isolation in Metro Vancouver."3


While living in a great city with a large number of people with whom to interact, many people still feel isolated and alone. This is a sad commentary on my city and it is also part of a growing problem in many other cities in Canada and the US. The American author, Robert D. Putnam, in his book, Bowling Alone, suggests that since 1950 there has been a continual decline in the number of in-person social contacts between people in the United States. Furthermore, "Matthew Brashears, a Cornell University sociologist who surveyed more than 2,000 adults from a national database found that from 1985 to 2010, the number of truly close friends people cited has dropped -- even though we're socializing as much as ever."4 The conclusions made by these various authors suggest that we are living in a culture in which people are withdrawing into more technological forms of contact and are investing less in in-person forms of social interaction. The result is a sense of isolation and loneliness.


Much more could be said of this and we could point to other trends in our culture such as how the entertainment we consume is becoming more and more individual (listening to music through our ear-buds; watching movies on our tablets or phones). In future postings we will explore this subject more deeply. For now I leave us all with one suggestion and even a challenge. Take the first step! We know that people around us are lonely and isolated and perhaps we feel a measure of this ourselves. What might happen if we invited that neighbour over for dinner? What if we truly got to know the person living beside us? It might be a risk worth taking.




1 (Mercer: Mags Andersen 2011)
2 The Globe and Mail article suggests that this was a survey but the report itself available at http://www.vancouverfoundationvitalsigns.ca/wp-content/uploads/community-conversations/Vancouver_CC_FINAL.pdf refers to this process as a "Table Discussion."
3 (Mason 2011)
4 (Potter 2011)


Mason, Gary. "Alone, so alone, in Vancouver." The Globe and Mail. November 24, 2011. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/alone-so-alone-in-vancouver/article2246891/ (accessed November 26, 2011).


Mercer: Mags Andersen. "2011 Quality of Living worldwide city rankings – Mercer survey." Mercer. November 29, 2011. http://www.mercer.com/qualityoflivingpr (accessed December 02, 2011).


Potter, Ned. ""More Facebook Friends, Fewer Real Ones, Says Cornell Study"." ABC News. November 8, 2011. http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/facebook-friends-fewer-close-friends-cornell-sociologist/story?id=14896994 (accessed December 2, 2011).


The Vancouver Foundation. "Community Conversations." Vancouver Foundation. 2011. http://www.vancouverfoundationvitalsigns.ca/community-conversations/ (accessed December 3, 2011).

Wait

Advent is a time when we look forward to the coming of salvation. We light candles that glimmer with a faint light as if we are seeing the "light of the world" from a far off distance. We recognize that before the coming of Jesus the world was truly in darkness. We must not too soon skip over the concept of darkness and immediately look forward to the coming of the Christ child. We must wait patiently in this darkness. The years prior to the coming of Jesus had been a dark and quiet period of waiting. Waiting for the Lord. God was not sending prophets and few miracles were occurring. It was the calm, quiet, darkness before the brilliant light that was about to flood the world.


In nature, in the northern hemisphere, trees and plants lie dormant through the bleak mid-winter awaiting the coming of light and spring. There is no fruit; there is an appearance of death. But look at the ends of the branches and you will see the new buds preparing to burst in spring. There is hope; there is life; spring will come again; but for now we must wait. We must wait in the darkness, accepting the dark night of the soul, the barrenness of winter, and the winter of our spiritual life. Only by hanging in the moment of this darkness will we appreciate the brilliance of the light. Advent is a season that cries out, "Wait, wait for it." Let the moment build to a heightened expectancy. We must wait so that we might truly appreciate light and life.


Dorothy L. Sayers, speaking of the "Word becoming flesh," says, ". . . from the beginning of time until now it is the only thing that has ever really happened . . . We may call this doctrine exhilarating or we may call it devastating, we may call it revelation or we may call it rubbish . . . but if we call it dull then what in heaven's name is worthy to be called exciting?"*


In this season of Advent we look with expectancy to this "only thing that has ever happened." He is near, but, at this very moment we wait . . . and wait . . . and wait . . . in darkness and barrenness.


*Sayers, Dorothy L. Creed or Chaos? Harcourt, Brace and Co., 1949, p. 5, 7.

The Irish and Civilization

It is the thesis of Thomas Cahill's book, How The Irish Saved Civilization, that if Patricius (also known as Saint Patrick) had not boldly gone into Ireland, the course of the entire world would have been different.

Ireland, a little island at the edge of Europe that has known neither Renaissance nor Enlightenment - in some ways, a Third World country with, as John Betjeman claimed, a Stone Age culture - had one moment of unblemished glory. For, as the Roman Empire fell, as all through Europe matted, unwashed barbarians descended on the Roman cities, looting artifacts and burning books, the Irish, who were just learning to read and write, took up the great labor of copying all of western literature - everything they could lay their hands on. These scribes then served as conduits through which the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian cultures were transmitted to the tribes of Europe, newly settled amid the rubble and ruined vineyards of the civilization they had overwhelmed. Without this Service of the Scribes, everything that happened subsequently would have been unthinkable. Without the Mission of the Irish Monks, who single-handedly refounded European civilization throughout the continent in the bays and valleys of their exile, the world that came after them would have been an entirely different one - a world without books. And our own world would never have come to be.*

What a remarkable thought. Imagine a world without the books and knowledge of the great western literature of Rome, Greece, and Israel. Imagine Europe without a knowledge of animal husbandry and breeding, agriculture, viniculture, military strategy, and law. Many of the books and parchments on the main continent of Europe which contained this knowledge were lost in battles, lootings, burnings, and disregard. Cahill makes a very good point. These humble monks who were far enough removed from the turmoil that was happening in the rest of Europe were able to preserve culture and then restart that culture from their little corner of the world. It is astonishing to think of the impact of the life of one person. Patrick, who was once a slave in Ireland, a herder of pigs and sheep, influenced the whole of Europe and the western world. It makes me believe that perhaps God may be calling many more of us to make sacrifices and take risks to make our world a better place. What might happen if we all began to listen to God in a manner similar to the way Patricius listened to God? What might happen if you and I lived a life that was more about our concern for others and less about our concern for our own well-being?

*Cahill, Thomas. How The Irish Saved Civilization: The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe. New York: Anchor Books, A Division of Random House, Inc., 1995. p. 4.

A Piece of the Darkness

I am reading Street Crossers by Rick Shrout. Chapter two is about Jason Evans who started something called Church at Matthew's House (or simply Matthew's House). At the close of the chapter, Rick reflects on some of what Jason has to say:

I was blown away when Jason made the comment about being called to respond when he and his fellow brothers and sisters in arms see darkness at work in the city. He said they wanted "a piece of it" . . . a piece of the darkness. It's their call to action . . . reminding me of the expression, "a piece of the action." As individual followers of Christ and as members of local churches, what is your call to action? From where you live, can you see a specific piece of the darkness that threatens individuals and families in your local community? If so, can you identify the action needed in order to confront it? Just imagine if all of us went after a piece of it - a piece of the action - a piece of the darkness. Just how far reaching might our impact be in our neighborhoods, towns, and cities? But in order to get a piece of the action, it will require a trip across the street to see and understand the darkness at work in your city. This calls for people who are willing to go. Find those people and do all you can to help them in their crossing.

Darkness cannot be overcome and displaced by light until light enters into darkened areas. So that's why we need to be there - simply there - in the darkness. You might think you can stand on one side of the street and direct the beam of a high-powered flashlight into the darkness on the other side. But that's ineffective. For one thing, darkness hides around corners and can only be exposed up close, by venturing around those corners with light in hand and heart. Furthermore, confronting darkness is not easy. It's not as simple as identifying what's wrong with the world and broadcasting that they all have to come over to your side of the street and get fixed. Few will hear the broadcast, and even fewer will listen. Even more telling is that this approach is impersonal, void of relationship and human contact. Then why do we tend to prefer this approach? Because it's easy. The more difficult way requires following The Way - a way that leads to face-to-face, eyeball-to-eyeball relationships with people who might make us uncomfortable.

Rick's reflection makes me think of Bruce Cockburn's unforgettable words: "But nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight; Got to kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight."*

*"Lovers In A Dangerous Time," Bruce Cockburn; September 1983. Toronto, Canada.

Follow-up to "Imagination"

To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. - Thomas A. Edison.

Imagination

Many of us spend very little time cultivating our imagination. The early twenty-first century was expected to give us more leisure time as automated devices freed us up from household chores. But instead the pace of life has robbed us of quiet times to dream and create. Add to this the fact that we have so much information and entertainment available to us and one soon sees why most of us are quite content to absorb someone else's imagination as we settle in for a night of television, movies, or video games. Most are content to listen to music rather than compose; read books rather than write; view movies rather than produce; and critique art rather than create. Perhaps you are one who has thought about using your imagination and becoming more creative. Can we cultivate an imagination? The good news is that we can. Think of imagination as an ability to play. When I was young I had no problem imagining that my bicycle was a space-ship on which I cruised through the solar system. I could use it to visit interesting planets and lost civilizations. When I was bored with another afternoon on the farm I could readily invent something that was far more interesting than dirt roads and fields of grain. My mind could transform these into other places, other times, and other creatures. Trees became jungles, barn-cats became fierce carnivorous beasts, and a granary roof the look-out for a castle. How could I be bored when I was capable of seeing all of these things in a single day?

Dorothy L. Sayers, in an interview, once explained how, at a certain point, she was discontented with her life and so she created a character in one of her novels that had all of the things she wished for. 

Lord Peter's large income... I deliberately gave him... After all it cost me nothing and at the time I was particularly hard up and it gave me pleasure to spend his fortune for him. When I was dissatisfied with my single unfurnished room I took a luxurious flat for him in Piccadilly. When my cheap rug got a hole in it, I ordered him an Aubusson carpet. When I had no money to pay my bus fare I presented him with a Daimler double-six, upholstered in a style of sober magnificence, and when I felt dull I let him drive it. I can heartily recommend this inexpensive way of furnishing to all who are discontented with their incomes. It relieves the mind and does no harm to anybody.[1]

What an amazing way to explain her process. I think I would have enjoyed spending an afternoon learning from Sayers. That too is another way to spark imagination: spend time with those who are creative. C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield, and other writers were known to spend time together at a public house known as "The Eagle and Child" in Oxford. The group was known as "The Inklings" and they read each other's works and inspired each other's imaginations. If you want to write books it certainly can't hurt to hang out with those who already write. Spending time with authors and song writers is a great way to stimulate your own creative gifts. Perhaps imagination and creativity are not expressed in every person. That is likely what makes them such precious gifts. Yet, I am convinced that more of us are capable of imagination than the ones who actually go on to express their creativity. What projects lie dormant in your heart? What might come of dusting off your imagination?

---

[1] Barbara Reynolds, Dorothy L. Sayers: Her Life and Soul, p. 230.

Quotations

"I always have a quotation for everything - it saves original thinking."
- Lord Peter Wimsey (a character in Dorothy L. Sayers' detective novels)