The mundane, the profound, and the profane

The Mundane

Webster says this about the mundane:

Etymology: Middle English mondeyne, from Anglo-French mundain, from Late Latin mundanus, from Latin mundus world
1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of the world
2 : characterized by the practical, transitory, and ordinary : COMMONPLACE <the mundane concerns of day-to-day life>
synonym see EARTHLY

All of us face mundane tasks on a daily basis - but I think they have been given a pretty bum rap by the media. When was the last time you saw your favorite movie star wash the dishes? - or take out the trash?

Commonplace experience is a lot of what life is made of - and it might be good to remember that “the trick is not to do what you like, but to like what you do.” These days you often hear the word boring along with anything mundane. “Oh, that’s soooooooooo boring” – and in the process we are missing a great deal of what life has to offer.

It has only been a generation since it was considered admirable to be able to do simple tasks well, like bake a cake or make a loaf of bread - now with our excessively busy schedules - we are seeing the advent of 24 hour daycare centers for children. (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/11/12/earlyshow/living/main583299.shtml)

I am not making a judgment on an individuals need for such a facility - but it does seem to me that our daily mundane lives might be spiraling out of control.

In 2 Peter 2:3 it says, “and through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you” -

Covetousness is pleonexia in Greek, meaning avarice (excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or gain), greediness, fraudulence (deceit), or extortion.

Feigned is plastos in Greek; meaning false formed or artificial. (Where we get our word plastic)

So many plastic words which if you will follow them, those leading you through covetousness will make merchandise of you. A kind of slavery where you make them rich and they keep you striving after the wind - all the time *despising the mundane. *(Webster - to regard as negligible, worthless, or distasteful)

In my yard there are tiny flowers blooming, and I had a conversation with a child today - the sunset was exquisite, and the sunlight on the snow - well, how can you describe things so mundane.

Almost everyone I meet these days is in a race to catch the wind - and from all my experience the wind is a pretty elusive target. Just the moment you think you might have a hold on it - it swings by and undoes your hairdo. Let’s hope yours is not a toupee.

So, the mundane would include quite a few things - like …….

Sunsets, rainbows, waterfalls, fields of flowers, chocolate, babies smiles, the occasional wildlife, sunrise, the starry sky, trees, good food, toddler chatter, a warm fire on a cold day, a photograph, music, art, a walk, clean sheets, a lady bug, a rollypolly, the sound of a clear stream over rocks, splashing in the water, swimming, snow, the rain ….. skipping stones, the ocean, the beach, the mountains, the wind, true and sincere friends (oops, we might be slipping into the profound here.)

So why is the mundane maligned as being “oh so boring” and pursued so infrequently in “real life”?

Could it be because these things are free of charge? - you can participate without spending any money? - no one has to be there to sell it to you before you are allowed to enjoy it? - is the mundane maligned because of its intrinsic value? - that the very nature of these mundane things keeps them out of reach of the merchant?

Remember the admonition from the mystic Hosea - “He is a merchant, the balances of deceit are in his hand: he loveth to oppress. ” The Holy Scriptures

There it is again, deceit, feigned words - selling you that which is not bread, and waters that will not quench your thirst, empty clouds without rain — Paul the Evangelist calls to us to “save ourselves from this *untoward generation” - *(marked by trouble or unhappiness)

The mundane is our free ticket entertainment - it happens every day, everywhere, it is multimedia at its very best - and if we can shed the cruel illusions of the advertisers, we can begin to enjoy ourselves, we can rest, we can perform our daily tasks with enthusiasm and charisma -we can begin to shine as lights.

“Do not wait until some deed of greatness you can do, Do not wait to shed your light afar, To the many duties ever near you now be true, brighten the corner where you are.” - Ina D Ogden wrote these words when her hopes of preaching on the Chau­tau­qua cir­cuit were dashed by her fa­ther’s ill­ness, which forced her to aban­don her plans in or­der to care for him at home. She embraced the mundane, she chose service over self indulgence.

The mundane is valuable stuff - it’s just not for sale - pursue it and the profound will come knocking on your door.

So if the mundane is not for sale, what is going on with all this buying and selling?

Watch a few advertisements. It hardly matters what they are selling, from cigarettes to cars to toilet paper, if you believe the ad, acquisition of the product results in the added benefit of a profound contact with something or someone wonderful and desirable. Sports drinks whisk you to a world where all are talented athletes, excelling in imaginary races of skill and endurance. Buying a car enables you to capture the wind, and take a sex goddess as your prize. Ordinary toilet paper becomes a portal to a world shimmering with sparkling pools and fragrant flowers.

The Masters of Illusion have been perfecting their craft throughout the ages - especially in modern times - could all this effort be aimed at more commerce?

The magicians, charlatans and Chaldeans were able to conjure up signs and wonders so persuasive that it gave them access to those sitting in the highest seats of power. Through their manipulation, they could mold events on a national scale. But turning the heads of pocket puppets was not enough to satiate the appetite of of these power hungry barons seeking dominion over the souls of men. For them, only mass obeisance could fill their cup of plunder - the compliance and subjugation of all individuals at any cost.

In the course of history there have been very few figures who have manifested sufficient influence as was needed to dominate societies by universally captivating the very hearts of men. Those that stand out most dramatically range from Jesus of Nazareth and Gandhi to the Caesars, Napoleon, and Hitler.

In the absence of such a personage hearts and minds must be won through other means.

Today the average person in the developed world will absorb the impact of nearly 3000 separate advertisements a day for everything from personal products, self-improvement programs, medicine and medical treatments, financial planning, business opportunities, political and religious viewpoints, and corporate hegemony to direct manipulation of their inner views on world issues such as globalization, global warming, the environment, wars, controversies like genetic engineering and abortion - even life itself.

Propaganda via the multimedia reigns supreme and it is not by chance - some of our most brilliant and creative minds have suborned for the task. The tools of the trade have been honed to a sharp threshing instrument.

We are promised the profound as we are subtly stripped naked and smitten barren - gorging ourselves at a smorgasboard where wrong is right, evil is good, war and terror is a peace process, bondage is freedom, infanticide is personal autonomy, perversion is an alternate lifestyle, a 1000 mile prison wall is a security barrier, compliance is independent thinking, and pornography is mandatory.

Peter the Denier knew the cost of this compromise when he said, “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption. For of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.” - The Holy Scriptures

In his song “The Great American Novel” Larry Norman penned, “When I was young you murdered art with courtroom politics, and you learned to make a lie sound just like truth. But I know you better now and I don’t fall for all your tricks, cause you’ve lost the one advantage of my youth.”

But fall we do, and we are spiraling into chaos.

The Profound

Now, to change the subject a bit to the profound.

Webster says this,

pro·found

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French parfunt, profond deep, from Latin profundus, from pro- before + fundus bottom –
1 a : having intellectual depth and insight b : difficult to fathom or understand
2 a : extending far below the surface b : coming from, reaching to, or situated at a depth
3 a : characterized by intensity of feeling or quality b : all encompassing

In other words - deep. I like the definition here of “characterized by intensity of feeling or quality” - since that is what we could be reaching for in this miracle of existence that we call living.

The profound is that which has some depth, some quality, some meaning, some insight - it is more than, it is greater than, worth more, deeper, finer, fairer - and most of us are familiar with the slang used to describe it - cool, heavy, rad, groovy, gnarly, bad, sweet, tight, wicked, super, kewl, hip, phat, awesome!

At least, this is the origin of these slang terms, to describe the events, emotions, feelings, ideas, visions, and dreams of each new generation. Oddly enough - the word profound itself is not cool - but the profound experience is.

Can the mundane deliver the profound?

In 1993 I was on a flight to India with a documentary film crew, and the in flight movie was something called “Groundhog Day”. I am a real fan of Bill Murray, but I must admit that about half way through, this movie had me wondering where it was going. About the time he started doing himself in, I braced for the worst. I was pleasantly surprised - in my opinion this movie was profound, (If you are one of the few who have never seen it - enjoy). However, this movie was not the highlight of that particular trip - we had a lot more in store for us - the truly profound.

Through a series of phone calls, our Indian manager came to a misunderstanding that resulted in our film crew boarding a flight from Delhi to Calcutta for the purpose of interviewing Mother Teresa. Our schedule was so tight, that all we had time to do on this one day trip was to fly to Calcutta, drive to the Mother House, conduct the interview, and rush back to catch our return flight to Delhi - we didn’t have much time to spare.

Upon our arrival at the Mother House in Calcutta, we were informed that there must have been a misunderstanding, that Mother Teresa was about to go to prayer, that she would be in prayer for four hours, and that she did not give interviews, not to anyone.

After some gentle pleading - we were told that we could meet Mother Teresa and were allowed to go to the second floor of the Mother House to do so. She met us dressed in her Sisters of Charity habit, barefoot - she was shorter than I had expected, but did take the time to greet us. We asked her if she would do an interview with us and she declined, saying she didn’t do interviews. “I will pray for you and you pray for me”, she said and began to excuse herself. We asked if we could interview one of the other sisters - to which she also declined. “I will pray for you and you pray for me”, she said and began to excuse herself once again. We stopped her once more and asked if we could just take a few pictures - “Sorry, we don’t allow any pictures” came her sweet but firm reply. “I will pray for you and you pray for me”, she said and excused herself to go to her daily four hour prayer.

We were escorted to a room on the first floor. While there, we met several people, most of whom knew Mother Teresa personally. Through a series of short conversations our director convinced one of the sisters to take a note to Mother Teresa asking her once more for the interview, and assuring her that we would pray that she would grant our request. As she left with the note - this sister said, “I’ll take Mother the note - but you had better pray.” - We did.

About 15 minutes passed, and another sister suddenly appeared in the room and said, “Mother will see you now”.

We rushed up the stairs, set up for the interview, and spent the next hour interviewing and then chatting with Mother Teresa. This was profound - and just spending this short time with this wonderful human being left an impact on my life.

The profound by its very nature is hidden in the most mundane things. It is a bit deeper down. Sometimes you have to dig in before you can find this hidden treasure - it is the second wind of a long distance run, the diamond encased in a lump of coal, the gold nugget at the bottom of the stream among the pebbles, it is the true friend in adversity, the word fitly spoken, the spring in the desert - the Holy Scriptures say, “When the desire cometh, it is a tree of life”.

Experiencing the profound raises us above our earthly nature, our basest instincts, our morbid mere existence, our familiarity, and our self centered apathy - and turns us toward the sun, we reach for the stars, and we touch the sky.

So is the time and effort needed to embrace and comprehend the profound worth it?

It will cost you something.

Freedom, enlightenment, understanding, perception, innovation, communication, empathy, revelation, consolation, you name it, the deeper things in life take time and effort to experience, and even more time to assimilate - Jesus the Prophet summed it up when he said, “He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away.”

Things don’t come into focus by consuming alone. Another serving will not necessarily reveal the essence of the matter.

Deep inside of each one of us is the knowledge that the profound is within our reach - but all too often it is not within our grasp. We sell ourselves cheap, we substitute that which is easy to see and feel, even repeating the same input over and over for its momentary solace of our voracious appetite for the genuine and meaningful.

We sell our birthright for a mess of pottage.

Some time back we were in Texas visiting some of my children and grandchildren. My wife took our two two-year-old granddaughters for a walk - they had an intended destination and duration for the event - but they didn’t make it there and it took a lot longer than planned - the time was taken up by more important things that the “little girls” discovered on the way. They hadn’t gone far before the “little girls” found a lady bug. The lady bug took a half hour of their time, crawling on their hands, walking up their arms, flying away and having to be found again, more time playing with it. After that they found a “rolly polly” - you know, the little gray bug that rolls up when you touch it. This took another 15 minutes as the “little girls” delighted in this animated little bug. Then they found some pretty flowers, which they picked to give to their mommies when they got home - and after that they found an ant hill - a virtual city of activity. Next came the babbling stream running through the property - and the “little girls” spent time listening to the sounds, watching the water caress the rocks, and insisting to take off their shoes to wade in the gurgling pools. The wind then caught their attention, and they spent time feeling it - “feel the wind!” they exclaimed as they lifted their arms and twisted their hands to experience it as fully as possible. They hugged each other spontaneously, they patted each others backs as they said “I wuv you!” - they held hands as they walked - remember - these “little girls” were two years old at the time.

What are you spending your time doing - and how do you see the experience of your daily life? As adults we must perform many tasks each day, we must complete our work, we must fulfill our responsibilities - but we are not required to relinquish our sense of wonder to do so. We can find the profound as we walk through our days.

“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” - Paul the Evangelist

It will cost you something.

“Meditate on these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all.” - the Holy Scriptures

The Profane

And the profane?

Is it even worth our time or attention? Why didn’t we deal with it first and up front, call a spade a spade, and then move on to the worthwhile?

Sadly, it probably wouldn’t be worth our time excepting that we are awash in the profane, and once again - it is not by chance.

What does it mean to be profane anyway?

It is to treat (something sacred) with abuse, irreverence, or contempt, to desecrate it - to debase by a wrong, unworthy, or vulgar use - to violate the sanctity of, to treat disrespectfully, irreverently, or outrageously.

Believe it or not - most people are are uncomfortable with those who treat the sacred with disrespect - at least, they are uncomfortable with it the first time it happens. It is the repetition of the vulgar and irreverent that numbs our sensitivities and pales our blushing faces.

The prophet Jeremiah was called to be a prophet while still young, and was a voice of warning - calling on the people to turn from wickedness to avoid destruction at the hands of the Babylonians. His amanuensis Baruch recorded these words, “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush”.

The profane is an unwelcome guest at the table of love and light.

The Holy Scriptures contains a book known as “Jude” - in it the writer claims to be the brother of James (the brother of Jesus), thereby claiming himself to be the brother of Jesus of Nazareth. Here is his description of those profane persons to whom we are all becoming more and more familiar - “These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.”

Too harsh? - or was he simply stating the facts - “when we walk with the wise, we will be wise.” - and when we walk with the profane ……….?

Most of you have probably never heard of Lenny Bruce, Aldous Huxley, or Anthony Burgess, Stanley Kubrick or “A Clockwork Orange”, or even Francis Ford Coppola, but you probably know about his nephew Nicolas Cage. You might have watched “Eyes Wide Shut” - but did you understand what you were viewing? - Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, 2001 A Space Odyssey, The Shining, or Full Metal Jacket? All of them stars in a purple haze - Jimi kissing the sky.

Before I go on let me say that touching the profound and the profane are pretty similar experiences - it is just that one is the counterfeit of the other.

We can walk with Ken Kesey and the “Electric Koolaid Acid Test” - or “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, (Jack after “Easy Rider”, “Five Easy Pieces” and a few others - preparation for “The Shining”) - or we can submit to the heroin driven force of “Deep Purple” - we all fell under The Beatles spell - and for good reason.

Remember, touching the profound and the profane are pretty similar experiences - it is just that one is the counterfeit of the other.

We have all embraced change on unprecedented levels since the 1960’s - and it has included a foray into the profane.

Most, but not all of those mentioned above have had something to do with this foray - some of them opened the door for us to the profound - some brought us not only to our highest highs, but to our lowest depths - so how do you tell the difference? - who is who?

Our pathologies run deep.

In rhetoric, pathos is the use of emotional appeals to alter the audience’s judgment. (Wikipedia)

Pathology according Webster is “the study of the essential nature of diseases and especially of the structural and functional changes produced by them” - (my emphasis) - experiencing the profane or the profound produces some changes in you too.

We are submerged in emotional appeals on every front - and to understand how powerful these are we can again look to the definition of emotion. Webster says, “a conscious mental reaction (as anger or fear) subjectively experienced as strong feeling usually directed toward a specific object and typically accompanied by physiological and behavioral changes in the body” - the spin doctors know that emotional appeal changes the way we look at things, it changes our ideas of ourselves and others, it changes who we are - inside.

Emotion, in its most general definition, is an intense mental state that arises automatically in the nervous system rather than through conscious effort, and evokes either a positive or negative psychological response. (Wikipedia - emphasis mine)

Lets list the most basic emotions - anger, fear, sadness, joy, disgust, surprise, curiosity, acceptance, shame, desire.

Repetition of the profane through emotional appeal in our books, music, movies, television, public speaking, art, politics, business, advertisements, even science, has a definite effect on how we perceive it or accept it.

It has been said that the most recent changes in the way the public views violence, sexuality, prescription drug use, parental control, political correctness, tolerance, environmental issues, a consumer society; our socially acceptable paradigms - our very perceptions of who we are and what we think - is the direct result of these emotional mantras. Repeat it often enough and the public will accept it - or at least they will no longer resist it.

The profane has a central role to play in all of this.

The shocking effect of the profane in our lives is a confrontational experience that we must deal with - we must choose to either embrace it, shun it, or turn away in apathy - with the profane there is no real middle ground - it is by definition extreme and in-your-face; and with expert use it is designed to change the boundaries of our personal standards.

It has been extremely effective in doing so.

Through the ages, our sages and prophets have not endorsed the profane.

Jeremiah said, ” For both prophet and priest are profane” The prophet Ezekiel - ” Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean…” Timothy - ” But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.”

Solomon the Wise - “Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths.”

King David - ” The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.”

The profane lowers the common denominator, it lowers the standard, it demeans, it abases, it pollutes.

Isaiah the prophet was one of the most eloquent writers of antiquity. These are his words, ” Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

We have lowered the common denominator in a public display of “false humility” - where we pay lip service to the idea of equality and fraternity.

If you win the lottery - you might be surprised that material wealth by itself will not open the doors of private counsels and the boardrooms of the elite. While our pundits laud our social and economic progress and universal access to equal rights, the realities of our world have not changed for far too many who bear the weight and burdens of the mechanics of this so called progress on their shoulders.

The ghetto is still the ghetto - isolation is still isolation - poverty is still poverty - slavery is still slavery.

The big difference is not that as a people we have fulfilled the invitation of a better promise - “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” - (Words written by Emma Lazarus that are found on the Statue of Liberty) - the big difference is not that we have condescended to men of low estate, and through self-sacrifice have lifted them from their dire circumstances and enriched their lives. . . . .

The difference today is that through embracing the profane - as a people we are descending into the same condition as those we pretend to rescue - by embracing the profane we are sending our very sons and daughters into perdition.

The profane is a cheap counterfeit for the profound - it is easily accessible to all, even to the meanest of men.

Closing

Paul the Evangelist wrote these words, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.” - profound words of truth that can transform and bring light and life.

I think Lee Ann Womack said it well in her song “I Hope You Dance”

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat
But always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small
When you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes, I hope one more opens
Promise me you’ll give faith a fighting chance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances
But they’re worth taking
Lovin’ might be a mistake
But it’s worth making
Don’t let some hell bent heart
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
Give the heavens above
More than just a passing glance

And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance.