dancing on the lawn
Last night my husband and I went to a concert at the beautiful Edgefield McMenamins "Concert on the Lawn" venue outside Portland. We liked the local opening act, Joseph, and thoroughly enjoyed headliners Amos Lee and David Gray, but we are definitely sit-and-listen types. Many in the crowd took a more active approach, rising to dance along as Lee and then Gray performed.
Sitting behind most of these bouncier types, I found it easy to begin inwardly poking fun. The awkward swayer... the overly emphatic finger-pointer... all the usual suspects were on display. I got to thinking, however, about the ways our perceptions of personal dignity sometimes overshadow our senses of wonder and delight. No rule says you have to dance and sway at a concert -- I enjoyed myself more, concentrating on the music, than I would personally have enjoyed dancing. Those of us with a tendency toward overstimulation sometimes do best when we can focus on one thing. :-) The finger-pointer, though, and the swayer, and all those who looked a little "funny" were surrendering, each in their own way, to the joy of sharing in artistic creation.
After all, when David and his soldiers recovered the ark of God, he danced "with all his might" (2 Sam. 6:14), joining the house of Israel in bouncing around with "songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets [that paints a picture] and cymbals" (6:5). A noisy and frenetic celebration. Saul's daughter Michal was not amused. To be more specific, "she despised him in her heart" (6:16). David's retort? "I will make myself yet more contemptible than this" (6:22).
David reigned long, and yes, he did make himself contemptible on more than one occasion for reasons far more significant than undignified dancing. Here, though, he demonstrates that there are far more important things than perceptions of dignity. Here's to you, awkward swayers and overly emphatic finger-pointers... here's hoping we all can share, each in our own way, in the joy of creation.
Sitting behind most of these bouncier types, I found it easy to begin inwardly poking fun. The awkward swayer... the overly emphatic finger-pointer... all the usual suspects were on display. I got to thinking, however, about the ways our perceptions of personal dignity sometimes overshadow our senses of wonder and delight. No rule says you have to dance and sway at a concert -- I enjoyed myself more, concentrating on the music, than I would personally have enjoyed dancing. Those of us with a tendency toward overstimulation sometimes do best when we can focus on one thing. :-) The finger-pointer, though, and the swayer, and all those who looked a little "funny" were surrendering, each in their own way, to the joy of sharing in artistic creation.
After all, when David and his soldiers recovered the ark of God, he danced "with all his might" (2 Sam. 6:14), joining the house of Israel in bouncing around with "songs and lyres and harps and tambourines and castanets [that paints a picture] and cymbals" (6:5). A noisy and frenetic celebration. Saul's daughter Michal was not amused. To be more specific, "she despised him in her heart" (6:16). David's retort? "I will make myself yet more contemptible than this" (6:22).
David reigned long, and yes, he did make himself contemptible on more than one occasion for reasons far more significant than undignified dancing. Here, though, he demonstrates that there are far more important things than perceptions of dignity. Here's to you, awkward swayers and overly emphatic finger-pointers... here's hoping we all can share, each in our own way, in the joy of creation.
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