When I don't Write

In the last several months I have experimented with a new vantage for writing. I told myself to lay off the verbiage a bit. That has worked for a while, indeed a few less blogposts but also a few more thoughts chasing around in my brain. Now I wonder about so and so – are they waiting for my thoughts? Or are they perhaps relieved that for now it's a little less verbosity? This of course immediately accompanied by my own self-styled philosophy “to thine own self be true” still "saying it as I sees it". And ... there are some freshly troubling responses from several editor-types, suggesting I might read this and this such and such books about creative writing, and also a query about might I want to write a series on...? 😐 To date I have experienced both encouragement and discouragement from the experts.

And then back to that other thought, what if my bona fides perhaps only read out of obligation? That would be horrible. And then, a further awareness. A few of my other friends keep cranking 'em out, probably totally free of this my own self-created anxiety, some of their productions profound, and some kind of so so. I guess they don't need my kind of a break! Obviously we have here a subject bigger than the creation of nice sentences. I too have read a few creative writing type tomes, and also some creations by those who are slavish about following those writing tips, and … I just know my writing is not happy following too many instructions. This is part of what's on my mind during this current slightly sputtering accumulation of non-posts.

And of course I read books; just read The New Morningside Papers [i] by the infamous Peter Gzowski who was host of CBC’s Morningside for five years (1982-1987), yielding a publication in 1985, a Canadian best-seller – 50,000 copies I think - and now this follow-up more little stories by those who respond to his requests to "write something." It's just more of the same, if there is a same to the hundreds and hundreds of ordinary people who write in. These people from everywhere wrote answers just because he asked them to write briefly (one page usually) about this or that. When you ask people about this or that, and if you’re interested in their replies, of a sudden people write out of their absolute best space, and that will yield best-sellers! 

What fascinates me about Gzowski is that his bio reads a bit like the makings of a loser. His parents split shortly after he was born; as a young adult reconnected with his birth father, attended same undergrad college as his dad, but got bored and quit, followed by series of impressive jobs like editor of MacLean’s magazine, but none lasted very long, until eventually we in this country of Canada came to know and still remember the slow talking slightly sleepy Morningside personality. He also smoked about 75 cigarettes a day, not exactly an exemplary habit, and it probably contributed to his rather early death in 2002.

Apparently public speaking contains similar ironies. Some of the best speakers do not read from a script; they just make sure of their message and proceed to speak about it. Nonetheless these same speakers can be quite irritating to their audiences if they merely go on and on with their creative imagery not going anywhere. The message must live within the speaker. I for one do not mind information boringly presented if I can feel it’s going somewhere! Enter the former world of Toastmasters and present day of Ted Talks. What is the right way, the creative way, the best-seller way? Back to Peter Gzowski. He tells of one occasion interviewing CBC’s greatest storyteller Stuart McLean, the interview quickly went off the rails - got mired in the giggles. Something at beginning had struck both their funnybones and the interview became a disaster, unable to finish because they were killing themselves with laughter. Says Gzowski, Open and uncontrolled laughter. We are gone. … Tears are running down my cheeks. We can’t look each other in the eye. “We’d better play some music,” I say, and the control room saves us. [ii]  It became a hit! Everybody loved listening to the two suffering conversationalists! Canada's greatest talk show host broke all the rules.

I have a good friend - my cousin actually – who comes to mind here not because he is an excellent writer (Although he most certainly is that. I know he's read one or two of those how-to books also). He comes to mind here because recently touched on this very topic in one of his blogs, “The Poet Pastor” [iii], quoting a Lutheran minister who says today the church is decluttered, in other words the real essence of today's church is not all those identifiers like street addresses and theological variations, ecumenical, evangelical, progressive or fundamentalist, organized into hundreds of denominations and sub-denominations, etc. This has become too complex, says Abe. The real essence is not in all of this. Faith communities need to be much aware of the Source of their life moreso than clergy job descriptions and denominational affiliation. Rather than preachers who try to explain things we need poet pastors! His reference to notables like Albert Einstein and others makes the assertion that there is more reality in the imagination, in artistry, than in knowledge. The decluttering reference gets me thinking also about our faith communities still carrying considerable clutter - more decluttering needed in order to experience in a greater way the great continuing promise of God above and beyond the clutter. It's actually quite obvious in the Bible (and no need to write yet another commentary!): Ruach, God’s breath there in the beginning (Genesis 2:7); continuing Comforter, or paraclete as promised by Jesus (John 16:7); and at the end of time the Lamb (Revelation 5:6).

And one more thing, perhaps unnecessary especially when writing about not writing! I conclude with what’s kind of a no-brainer, came as a gift from an elder in our church who still writes reflectively, albeit briefly. He tells of Jesus’ conversation with Nathaniel (John 1:47) [iv], recognizes him as an Israelite “in whom there is no deceit.” From this vantage of Jesus recognizing the genuine disciple, brother Strempler provides a timely teaching for us all, the importance of holding our egos in check. Easy to be overcome by clouds of self-deceit, self-preoccupation and egocentrism blocking out the light of God. 

 

Romans 3:23 anybody? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Good reminder even among my efforts at a little less verbal clutter. And I don’t even mind if it sounds a little Baptist. 😏

 

 

 

 

___________

[i] Peter Gzowski, The New Morningside Papers (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart), 1987.

[ii] Ibid. p 29.

[iii] Abe Janzen, “The Poet Pastor,” http://somemessynotes.wordpress.com, August 5, 2023.

[iv] Erwin Strempler, “Without Deceit”, email sent to reading group, August 20, 2023.

 

Jobs

I have recently become intrigued with jobs. Jobs, so simple a word kind of spurned by the philosophers and deep thinkers who might tell us it's more important to sit, to meditate, to think, do nothing, etc. This kind of flies in the face of some recent experiences I have had. So even before I exercise my thinker too much, here are those recent experiences ....

Just yesterday I took a little drive across town to meet with a friend at his request. He is from South Sudan, a new immigrant to this country, and we have become close friends, need each other’s presence periodically. He lives with the trauma of the genocide he experienced at hands of ‘those on the other side’and an unending passion to help those who suffer in that endlessly troubled country now also dealing with spillover from renewed fighting in Sudan. This he never forgets and it can become overwhelming especially for me, this white ‘problem solver.’ Yesterday, however, his eyes sparkled, he was dressed up just for the occasion of coffee with me at a local Tim Horton’s. It was time for catch-up. He has been working long hours during Calgary Stampede, at one of the casinos, not managing one of the gambling tables or that type of job. Nope, he’s been on garbage detail, long hours, huge bags of garbage created by wealthy partyers and gamblers, many of them inebriated and generous tippers. Rich people seem to enjoy good looking cheerful black men coming around to take care of disposal needs. I cannot but marvel at my friend’s cheery disposition even as I restrain my judgmental attitude to the party show which characterizes this sin city.

I think of another recent scenario. Some members of our extended family have recently arrived in this city. A couple with three children, one has landed a good job in this oil fueled economy, the other partner still looking. As they land in Calgary alongside our challenging housing market, it has become obvious they will need not one but two jobs. Yes, lots of income needed. Almost immediately he gets a job in the service industry – temporary and not in the profession he is trained for – but it's better than sitting around in a hot house and they are thankful. Now in this household there is banter, happiness; there is faith and hope. It almost reminds me of Genesis 12, which my wife and I read this morning. Abram instructed to go “to a land I will show you” (:1) not all details in place, but it was a required move.

Last night we had dinner, special guests of a young man we have become acquainted with this last year.  Our evening conversation included much description of the job which he has recently landed after a considerable stretch of painful unemployment. He loves his job, knows his trade, and is happy to work long hours as carpenter on a huge project. We are buoyed up in presence of his cheery generous spirit, proud of his ambition and his good attitude as his career resumes. The self-confidence is a joy to behold.

I notice jobs are also quite common among some high-school kids I know. Seems to me this is a good way of learning to receive instructions in exchange for a wage, definitely better than attitudes of entitlement which can come from the allowance option of 'high-end' kids. Especially among those not too enthused about studies, jobs are an excellent way to learn focus and the satisfaction of a job well done. According to some of their parents, it also helps to improve the grades in school.

Needless to say one might now extrapolate at length about employment and or unemployment. Canada’s current unemployment rate is 5.4%, and this our city at present is above that at 6.6%. Surprise! I do recall Premier Danielle Smith saying in her victory speech on May 29 that Alberta is open for business, obviously not providing lots of jobs just yet! Needless to say many factors are in play. I shall not wax political here. Nonetheless image and hype cannot be ignored even as we must take responsibility for education and training and yes, personal motivation of each and every one of us, our place in the workforce.

Work is no stranger to me. My lifelong challenge has been and still is to learn to relax – as my friends, family, and my doctor all know! So even as I acknowledge the importance of learning to do nothing I still have a "yes but." I maintain work is a joy; it is good for us even if jobs not always ideal. This vantage is perhaps because I come from a lineage of Mennonite rackere (a term close to slavery). My dad regularly referred to idol hands or an idol mind as the devil's workshop. Slightly overstated, his hyperbole is probably still a contributor to my own value system. 😉  

Obviously I have an appreciation for a working attitude. These days there is another side to this coin, and I observe it every day. In this city there are many young people and even worn-out middle agers, some with heads hanging to their chest, unfocused eyes, standing at traffic light intersections, receiving either abuse or handouts, whatever drivers see fit to dole out. There are reasons, many struggling with addictions and mental health, and some of them simply have not had anybody love them enough to teach the value of work. A Bible reference also I cannot ignore.  For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). Hmm.

Jobs are a valuable thing, especially if fueled by the desire to work. There are also those with jobs but little motivation to work. They hang unto jobs because they know not what else to do, or they need the income. In those cases they are abusers, of themselves and of their employers. Last weekend I spent some time in company of a business owner. One of his laments, and he was not speaking negatively at all, was this, “We can’t find enough workers, people who want to work, or at least want to learn how to work.”

That, I believe, is food for thought for all of us retirees, the parents and grandparents of those on one side or other of the employment statistics in this day.