my blog creativity must be on summer vacation too . . .

Went down to Lexington last night to hang out with the Creecher and had a good time. Some pizza and wings, a couple pints at McCarthy's Irish pub and then to Common Grounds for coffee and open mic. night. Some of the musicians/artists were good, some were, well, in my estimation, not good. I suppose though that art is all relative right? Just because I thought it wasn't quality doesn't mean someone else with different brain cells might see it as art. I can appreciate art, but its not a culture I could live in. My borderline type A personality would not be welcomed in that sub-culture. The song that got the biggest crowd reaction last night implored us in the chorus to "make pizzas, not nuclear bombs". That's advice you just don't get everyday and something I'm gonna keep in mind this week.
I do appreciate different cultures though, I love the diversity, what makes them tick. Even in the art/indy sub-culture, the focus is on the individual but there are definitely themes of conformity amongst them. Their anti-mainstream tastes in appearance are similar to one another, so is it really a rebellion against the "Man" or just another form of conformity? They were sandal wearing, hippie sounding, folk singing, love promoting, coffee drinking, anit-war enthusiasts (of course they were more than that, I'm just creating my own generalization with labels) But is that a bad thing? I mean, our community is within a distinct culture and our culture helps give us an identity. An identity that is larger than ourselves, you see, I'm pretty against the hyper-individualism thing. Our culture helps us understand story, the story we find ourselves in. It helps us make sense of the world we live in and the future we're heading into. If all I have to go on is "being my own person", well, that's pretty shallow. I don't want to be the center of my worldview, that's pretty pathetic. I want to know and be known in the context of that Story. The Kingdom Story that gives me identity and meaning, gives me room to be creative, gives me a fight to wake up to in the morning. Jesus' story makes sense to me. Abba is the center of my identity. The community of genuine followers of Jesus are to whom I belong. All my contentment and purposes are found in Him. Death to self is my marching orders today, as is everyday that I decide to take up my cross and follow.
I hope you find a Story that you belong to today.

peace,