Porch Meditations: Beauty and Complexity

I was sitting out on the front porch this afternoon. I’ve been doing that a lot actually, since I’ve gotten to Idaho and the Callihans. There’s a nice white rocking chair out there that I’m growing quite fond of. Today I was thinking about spending time with God, and how I could do that. I fell to admiring nature, all the beauty around me, and I thought up the most wonderful metaphor.

I love to listen to my music with people and have them talk about what they like or what they observe or what they here. I’m very proud of my album. But no one I’ve sat down and listened to my music with though can fully appreciate the complexity of all the different elements that went in, all the details on each instrument, the little nuances, the recording engineering, this little special tweak here, how it lends itself to the mix, the detail and reverb on the snare drum and the differences of each track… I’m intimately familiar with my creation and how it works and compliments itself. Because no one knows as much as I do about every little element that went in, they can only understand a little piece of what I’ve done.

In the same way, as I sat outside soaking in God’s wonderful creation, I was amazed at the detail. I cannot fathom how everything connects, I can’t know all the little details. I can only see in the very broadest sense the minute detail that went into every atom of creation. I can only imagine the supreme craftsmanship and love that went into everything that surrounds us, into the very air we breathe. Life is such a beautiful web, each little element elegantly woven and connected so delicately with so many other pieces. It amazes me when I think about the fact that I can’t begin to understand how everything connects and works together. I can’t even see all the detail that went into everything. But what I can see is so beautiful. Have you ever stopped to think about all that you can’t see?