First Rob Bell wrote Velvet Elvis, Sex God, and Jesus Wants to Save Christians. I’d read two out of these three books, and watched a few of his short videos online. All in all, I’m a fan. He challenges Christians to reevaluate living by a check list religion, and communicates some pretty provocative ideas, while doing so responsibly. Anyway, I heard he was coming to town, so I went to hear him at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center a couple weeks ago. He was making his rounds in Florida, on his world wide tour for the release of his new book: Drop Like Stars. He was there to discuss what some may feel is an inconvenient subject, but nonetheless, very relevant.
Suffering & Creativity
Dressed in all black, except for his white low topped converse sneakers, he appeared much as I imagined from the various video’s I had seen of him. And then, like an existential seamstress he began, not so much to explain away the why of suffering, but to sow together those painful fragments left behind in its wake, and present a different, and arguably a more pragmatic question: “what now”?
Bell began his talk with a story of a father who has two sons. Both of his sons wives are pregnant. However, one of the women miscarriges, while the other one gives birth to a healthy boy. The father has to walk down the same hospital hallway where both incidents occurred. One with his head held low, and another held high, with, I imagine, tears of joy. This is our life, Bell sugest. We are walking the hallways of our lives, with sadness on our left, and joy on our right.
What do we do now, in a world where suffering is real. Where bad things do happen to good people. Where children die at the hands of depressed mothers, and governments orchestrate genocides and call them something fancy like….rebel defense initiatives.
Yes, we live in the world of bloated bellies, and casually discarded leftovers. A strange juxtaposing of the surplus of the best in life, and the most horrendous display of lack and random suffering. When, as the popular Switchfoot song states,”success is equated with excess“. Frankie Beverly and Maze sang about it in “Joy & Pain“. He goes on to discuss what we can make of this bitter sweet union common to us all on this journey called life. Somewhere among the epiphanies, laughter, interactive moments, soap bars, and over sized rabbits(You’d have to have been there)… I managed to scribble down some memorable points.
3 themes that hit home
- The Art of Disruption. Where it seems at times that pain is what ultimately leads us to a place of real honesty.
- The Art of Elimination. Bell carefully shows that there can be a huge difference between owning something, and actually possessing it(short video clip of live presentation).
- The Art of Failure. He states that what every artist must learn is that even the failed pieces are essential. That in a strange way, nothing is wasted. And that often times, it’s “where the blemish is, that the spirit enters”.
The book, pretty much follows the same format of his live presentation. The back cover blurb gives you an idea of what he covers:
We plot, we plan, we assume things are going to go a certain way and then they don’t and we find ourselves in a new place, a place we haven’t been before, a place we never would have imagined on our own. And so it was difficult and unexpected and maybe even
tragic and yet it opened us up and freed us to see things in a whole new way.Suffering does that— It hurts, but it also creates.
How many of the most significant moments in your life came not because it all went right, but because it all fell apart? It’s strange how there can be art in the agony.
This “relationship between suffering and creativity” is one that I imagine is easier to digest in theory, or at least after the wounds have began to heal some. I’ve heard, and I’m not quite sure from where, that the best gift one can give to someone right after they have experienced a tragic event is just their presence. So I wouldn’t recommend running out and getting this coffee table book(it’s huge) to send immediately to someone who is grieving. But I do recommend it for anyone who thinks they are ready to consider some rather counter intuitive conclusions to some difficult question. This is definitely not a book of, I-can-fix-your-pain cliches, or I-have-all-the-answers type tips and tricks.
Anyway…check it out(If you are able to visit him live on tour, I’d jump at the chance). To be honest, I figured since I’d heard the entire thing live, I’d pass on the book, but not before giving it a read through at my local bookstore. :-) I’ll admit, I did appreciate the live presentation more than the book. The book is a little on the pricey end(around $30), and is a pretty brief read. That being said, this half book, half artistic experience, will move you, and put you face to face with some surprising and often overlooked aspects to what pain and suffering may bring to our lives.
“Above all, remember that the meaning of life is to live it as if it were a work of art. You’re not a machine. When you’re young, start working on this great work of art called your own existence.” – Abraham Joshua Heschel
More thought provoking stuff from Rob Bell:
Sincerely,
Veron Graham (exploretruth.com)
Written by Veron Graham
Topics: Blog, Interviews