Thursday, September 13, 2007

Why Sarah doesn't dance...

Mary and I were telling our Monday Bible Study group about Sarah's latest email when one of the member's interupted me by asking, "Does Sarah not dance for spiritual reasons?"

Her question rather caught me by surprise. We don't have any rules in our family about dancing. Most of my daughters dance one way or another. I've even seen Sarah folk dance! But Sarah does have my sense of rhythm - she doesn't care for churches where they clap to the music. That didn't seem like a very spiritual reason for not dancing.

Then as I fumbled an answer it occurred to me that Sarah probably doesn't dance for the same reason Sarah doesn't drink. She doesn't believe in opening doors she doesn't want to enter. That's a spiritual reason!

Sarah


At that point I threw in a red herring about hymns which took the conversation far, far from where I wanted to go.

My thought, which was still forming when I muddled the point and lost my chance to say something useful, is that music also opens doors people don't want to enter.... so why do they keep on opening the doors?


The 1970s me

The music I listened to in the 1970s (folk more than rock) was probably neither as sensual (with notable exceptions like Bob Dylan's "Lay, Lady, Lay" and Simon & Garfunkel's "Cecelia") or depressing as much of what some of the people I love enjoy. But it did take me where I didn't want to go emotionally.

Of course, I don't think I really made this connection until it became obvious to me that more than once through her Olivia Newton-John album shot my college room mate into the depths of melancholy and made her (so I thought) unliveable. Somehow its always easier to see this in other people!

I think we posted a moratorium on Olivia Newton John.

Then I took a look at my own music life - and decided it was time to develop a taste for classical music!

To be perfectly honest, I still enjoy a brief encounter now and then with some of the old music... Simon & Garfunkel; John Denver; Neil Diamond; Joanie Mitchell; Gordon Lightfoot; Peter, Paul & Mary; Judy Collins; Leonard Coen ... but a little goes a long way.


And the Baroque music I subsequently came to enjoy does much better things for my psyche!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps YOU should be glad I don't have a blog...I had forgotten about my former shallow pre-occupation with ONJ. I think it was just one song, in my defence. Anne Tepanier

Laurie Elliot said...

Yes, Anne, I imagine you could tell some very uncomfortable stories about me!

BTW, what was the one song?

Anonymous said...

I don't know the title, thankfully, but lyrics went something like..."there you are with yours, here I am with mine" I don't think it won any awards. It is bad enough to remember the little I can-do scriptures come that easily? I was trying to find a favorite in Isaiah while sitting with my Dad the other day, and couldn't because it was a newer translation! A.