Sorrow in your heart

 

I’m reading an extremely interesting little piece of literature called “Their Children Dance” by H. Frank Fort. The presentation examines the art form of dance with a Biblical analysis that crosses cultural boundaries although it makes some rather hoky references to country square dancing halls. Definitely a must-read. Inside it cites Ecclesiastes 11:9-10.  Remember Ecclesiastes is the book of questions with a lot of philosophies and repetition that “All is vanity.” With that in mind, there’s a directive to be happy in your youth, and walk in the direction of your heart. Verse 10 continues stating, “Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh…” I can appreciate being told to be happy. It’s not always effective, but it’s a nice idea. Being told to remove sorrow from my heart is another story.

Removing sorrow from my heart isn’t as simple as telling myself to stop crying. There’s no off switch or psychological exercise I can use. Sorrow is a consuming emotion that takes strong effort and the help of time to control. The pain is a result of a great human history of imperfection. But the sorrow here competes with the joy of youth. I can’t put on joy to mask reality if I’m grieving. We can’t ignore grief either. But in context, there comes a time to remove it from our heart - that great part of our being that gets most of our attention anyway. Knowing that sorrow doesn’t last a lifetime is seen here where it’s commanded to leave. We can at least see that there’s a timeline of change.

And the last part of that verse? It reads that “childhood and youth are vanity.” Yeah, great stuff. Another translation states that “youth, with a whole life before it, still faces the threat of meaninglessness.” So, basically, watch your actions, the actions of your youth. Meaninglessness can be beaten, but definitely not on our own. Life’s turns come with at least the ability to move on and remove the sorrow from your heart.

Lyrics to The Byrds, “Turn! Turn! Turn!” - adopted from Ecclesiastes 3 - here at http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/forrestgump/turnturnturntoeverythingthereisaseason.htm.

On that note: ”Canticle of the Turning” listen free at http://groups.imeem.com/kzg3zRiJ/music/VK284prm/rory_cooney_gary_daigle_theresa_donohoo_canticle_of_the/.