The Rhythm of Life

I think everything has rhythm... We see the rhythm of the seasons as creation moves from rest to birth to fecundity to closing down... of the day as the sun marches through the sky... of the month as the phases of the moon change... in a woman's cycle... in the circle of life that we go through in the course of our lives... we see it in scripture in the commandment that we rest on the 7th day... and in the church as the liturgical calendar cycles through the church year and the three year lectionary.

I believe the need for rhythm is built into the very nature of human beings. But it is so difficult to find in our culture. There is no time to rest. The lines between work time, play time, and rest time are completely blurred. We are too busy, too pulled, too pre-occupied. And all of that is worse here in California where there aren't even radical changes in the seasons that force a person to change their lives. At least in the snow country, when winter comes you are forced to turn inward a bit and when spring comes, the bursting forth of new life is amazing.

That lack of rhythm here in amazing Santa Barbara (it is drop dead gorgeous) has been the most difficult adjustment for me. Yes, there are differences in the seasons, subtle though they are, but they do not force themselves on you. It is easy to go on and allow everyday to be exactly like the day before. I find myself disoriented as to time of year (how can it be Advent when I'm wearing a short-sleeved shirt and no jacket?) The lines between work and play are blurry and it requires a lot of running to maintain that laid back California lifestyle. So all of that forces me to work harder to find rhythm. It forces me to take more seriously the rhythm of the week with Sunday as time for worship, the rhythm of the year with Advent as a special time of preparation, the rhythm of my life as I sit here in my middle age knowing that I will not be forever.

I teach 4 students beginning guitar. Rhythm is one of the most difficult pieces for them to learn. Hopefully it will be a skill that serves not only their music but all of their lives.