Day Off iPod Deep Thoughts

Had a significant amount of downtime yesterday which is nice on your day off, I can tell you.

And, when I have downtime and don't feel like reading (right now my book stack, down to the holiday pre-refill stage, are the two books that seem to find their way to the bottom of a book stack in the holiday pre-refill stage) I like to use the time to catch up on podcasts.

I came across this little nugget during one in which Donald Miller (yes, the Blue Like Jazz Donald Miller--a moniker that, I would imagine, has blessings and curses associated with it. Blessing: It was the book that let him write full-time and gave him platforms to influence others across the world. Curse: You're always going to be the Blue Like Jazz guy and have to meet everybody's expectations even though you've likely grown and moved on from a lot of that) was getting some pulpit time in Michigan:

"[According to Robert McKee, noted creative writing instructor]  Stories aren't as good as they used to be, that stories are in decline...You might say that maybe there isn't as much creativity as they used to be.  I would also argue that human lives just aren't as good as they used to be. That not only story and entertainment is declining, I think the quality of our lives is declining as well."

Further, after discussing the causes of this quality of lives decline, brings up that it might be because we don't have convictions that truly "drive" us:

" [Miller, quoting McKee] This erosion of values has brought with it a corresponding erosion of story[telling]."

And that brought to mind a song from my friends Lost and Found in which the lyrics say this:

(intro chorus) EVERYBODY NEEDS A SONG (2x)
EVERYBODY NEEDS A SONG TO SING THROUGH,
A HOPE TO CLING TO,
A LOVE THAT MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND.

A TINGE OF THE SCENT OF THE AIR OF A TIME WHEN A
MOUNTAIN COULD CALL A MAN TO A CLIMB.
A NOTE FROM THE TUNE IN THE SONG IN THE HEAD
OF A KNIGHT WHO STAYED STRONG IN THE FIGHT UNTIL DEAD.
A HINT OF THE HUE OF A PAINTING THAT PROVED THAT A MAN WHO'D SEEN EVERYTHING
STILL COULD BE MOVED.

EVERYBODY NEEDS A SONG (2x)
EVERYBODY NEEDS A SONG TO SING THROUGH,
A HOPE TO CLING TO,
A LOVE THAT MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND.

A THOUGHT OF THE STRENGTH OF A SAINT WHO HAS PASSED TO A LIFE
WITHOUT PAIN AND REJOICES AT LAST.
A PEW IN THE NAVE OF A CHURCH IN A TOWN OF A LAND WITH A KING
WHO STOOD TALL FOR THE CROWN.
A WORD FROM THE SPEECH OF A MARTYR WHO GAVE
A LIFE FOR THE CAUSE OF A PEOPLE TO SAVE.

EVERYBODY NEEDS A SONG (2x)
EVERYBODY NEEDS A SONG TO SING THROUGH,
A HOPE TO CLING TO,
A LOVE THAT MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND.

And so I'm thinking out loud this morning...

First of all, is Miller, in his discussion of McKee's work on the right track? As a Christian community, are the quality of our lives in decline as we live them out in a suburban American setting in 2007?

And, secondly, what "mountains are calling us to climb them? What kind of things would push us to fight to the death for? What moves us?

Man, I know it's early.

Man, I know it's a lot to think about.

Man, you should try living in my head for the last 14 hours or so.

I went to bed with it.

I tossed and turned a lot.

And I woke up with it.

So, let's have coffee and talk about it, shall we?