Understanding can be an ephemeral thing. What we see at night may not be what we see in the light of day. What we see through a gray mist may not correspond to what we view gazing upon the same scene in bright sunshine. Our perceptions of a thing standing next to it may be changed by viewing it from several thousands of feet in the air. What we perceive as truth from one point of view may not be true from another point of view.
I’ve come to understand that this last bit of wisdom seems to apply to many truths from the Bible. As one grows in faith, one begins to perceive things differently, both in one’s views about this world, and also in one’s views of God’s Word. I have come to understand that God sees things differently than we do, here, in this limited vantage point. And if one accepts God as, well, God, one is obliged to also accept that when one’s point of view differs from God’s point of view, one changes one’s point of view. This can, and does, affect our perceptions of truth.
One of the ways in which my own way of viewing the things around me has changed involves the passage of time. I flatter myself into believing that I do not write this blog for merely my own amusement, that there are at least one or two others who also gaze upon it from time to time. My sparse and erratic schedule of updating it surely has not encouraged such behavior. And yet, I persist in this attitude. Were I to check on the statistics for this page, my perceptions might change, and that would make it yet another example of how we can understand the same thing differently, depending on circumstances. Time, or its passage, can be a powerful modifier of one’s point of view. Now, as I make my way through the middle ages (hopefully) of my life, I do not perceive many things as I did in the fiery, busy days of my youth. I see value in things that I never used to, and have seen things that I once valued greatly lose much or even all of their value to me, as I have been changed by the years that have gone by. Time changes us, and through us, it changes both the world around us, and how we perceive that world.
Some months ago, I learned of a musical group that inhabits an genre of music the existence of which I was completely unaware. As I have been a lifelong fan of music in general, the fact of my ignorance took me somewhat by surprise. The group would perhaps be better described as a music production company, and the genre for which they create their music is a fairly small one, yet it is likely you have heard their work. The genre is music created exclusively for movie and video game trailers, and the production company is called Two Steps From Hell. An unsettling name, to be sure, and yet their music is unlike anything I’ve ever heard. But if you’ve watched the video game trailer for “Mass Effect 3“, or watched the movie trailers for “The Dark Knight“, “Star Trek“, “Rise of the Planet of the Apes“, “No Country For Old Men“, “The Fighter“, any of the recent Harry Potter movies or dozens of other high-profile ‘blockbuster’ movies and most recently “Cloud Atlas“, you’ve heard their work.
Most of their albums have only been released within the industries in which they work, and so the vast body of their work is difficult or impossible for the public to gain access to. But a few days ago as I write this, they released a new album to the public, called “SkyWorld“. As usual, I was completely taken by several of the tracks, but one in particular has grown on me, until I found myself possessed by it. The track is called “Back To The Earth“. When I first listened to it, I wasn’t sure I liked it. But after listening to the entire album, it was the first piece I went back and listened to a second time. It is unlike almost all of their other music, and so I would encourage listening to a wider selection before deciding whether to purchase SkyWorld. (That said, I do strongly recommend purchasing the album.) But this song found a place inside me, and began to resonate there. In the days since then, I haven’t listened to anything but this one song, over and over.
And this is where your perceptions, Gentle Reader, may differ from mine. If you have lived only a tender number of years on this green Earth, then I think this song may reach you differently than it has me. When I listen to it, I hear a yearning, an exceptional beauty, a sadness, I hear a mental image of…something…that I view with a certain sepia tone, granted or cursed upon me by the passage of many years. I don’t think young ears can hear it, unless they have heard many, many other things first. Perhaps I’m wrong; I hope so, as I would like the whole world to feel the things I have felt since I began listening to it. And my perceptions have been changing, and they continue to change. But the truth is, I can no longer tell whether it is my perceptions of the music changing….or if it is me doing the changing, because of what I’m hearing.
Somewhere amongst the third or fourth hearing, I found myself in tears, which surprised me at the time. It isn’t a “sad” song, in the traditional sense. Or perhaps what I should say is, I frankly have no fixed idea of what the song is actually about. I have listened to the words closely, but I have yet to determine the subject of the piece. But that’s alright, as the words don’t necessarily convey what meaning I have found in it, or at least not all of it. And the meaning continues to grow, as I continue to listen to the music over and over and over again. And that’s in the nature of things; meaning can change, as we change, as we age, as we love, and hate, and forgive.
The one thing I do know is that when my time on this Earth is done, and the Good Lord has called me away from friends and family and back home to be with Him…..I’d like this song played at my funeral. There are, and have been, others I’d like played as well. But now…this one will be included. Whatever other meanings it has now or may have for me in the future, there is something about it that speaks to me of loss, and sadness, and wishes, and the yearning for something better. Those things are all present at that final ceremony which marks the ending of a life. When my turn comes as surely it will, this is one of the songs I want to accompany me on that journey.
The Cool of the Evening 