Wednesday, September 21, 2011

ZAMM (part 3) - Chautauqua, then and now


Part 3 of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZAMM):

I have considered Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as one of my favorite books of all time - next to the Bible.

During a motorcycle trip from Minnesota to the West Coast, the narrator ascends to the heights of esoteric philosophy down to the practical wisdom of motorcycle maintenance.

Instead of asking the tired question - What's new?

He asks - What's best?

After re-reading the book this summer, I chose to blog about many of the ideas presented in this inquiry into values. Here is one of them.

Chautauqua.

That is one of the words that Pirsig grapples with to capture the physical, metaphysical, and spiritual journey he has laid out in his work.

The term originated in 1874. In western New York, the shores of Chautauqua Lake became the meeting place to educate Sunday School teachers during the summer break. These meetings blossomed into a national movement of adult education. The concept took legs as traveling tent-shows popped up across the country where people could hear popular talks and exchange ideas.

Theodore Roosevelt called this meeting

"the most American thing in America."

(check out - What was Chautauqua.)

The Death of Chautauqua?

The movement roared into the 20th century, but lost steam by the 1930s as radio, movies, then later TV pushed it aside.  How more so has the mass media in the 21st century crowded out deep and personal discussions where we have in addition to radio, TV, movies, all of the modern marvels of the 24/7 cable news cycle, internet, various types social media, various gadgets such as smart phones, iPads, etc.

As Pirsig rues in his "Chautauqua "  - though the stream of information runs broader and faster, it doesn't seem to run very deep.

Prequel to Chautauqua

Let's go back to the world's best seller of all times - the Bible, which records an earlier form of Chautauqua.

The Law of Moses prescribed a day off for rest (Exodus 20:8-11) offering an opportunity to slow down from the tyranny of the immediate and meditate on the spiritual and deeper meaning of life.  And this tradition has been Christianized and carried on well into the 20th century as many denominations have set aside Sundays as the "Lord's Day" for worship and spiritual reflection.  In the past, most businesses were closed.  People slowed down - at least for a day - to be with family and rest from their usual labors.

Yet our fast paced 21st century sophistication can be likened to St. Paul's encounter in Athens with the intelligentsia of the first century, who hung out with itching ears to hear the latest things. (Acts 17:16-34)

What's new? 

The philosophers wanted to know when they heard of Paul's preaching of some new foreign gods. And Paul told them ....

What's best!

He declared unto them the Unknown God as revealed in the Holy Scriptures and preached the Gospel. Then the listeners scoffed when they heard of the resurrection. They were already jaded and ready to move on to the next new thing - but not the best thing.

Resurrection of Chautauqua

In spite of our fickleness and appetite for instant gratification, the Chautauqua movement lives on in the place it all began. Here is their website for talks in this fast and fickle 21st century - Chautauqua Institution.  Below is a short video about the movement that has carried on for more than 135 years.



21st century vitual Chautauqua

Though many may not visit the Chautauqua Institution, we have the tools to create right one where we are at. The internet can be a magnificent tool when the keyboard meets the hands of those with a heart ready for learning.

Access to the internet can be one of the greatest tools for democratization on the planet.  We can search for the best teachers who put themselves out there in cyberspace. Websites, blogs, social media can draw us into the discussion like many of these topics discussed in the original Chautauqua movement and so many more topics opened up in this amazing age.

How broad, wide, and deep we wish to go? What do we wish to learn? It's up to us. And that can be a challenging, yet magnificent thing.

Question:  What sites are a source for your private Chautauqua?


More articles in this series:

ZAMM (part 1) - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

ZAMM (part 2) - Journey through Life



Photo from Wikipedia: Chautauqua Stamp

Friday, September 2, 2011

September 11, 2001 - A Survivor's Faith


September 11, 2001.

Has it been 10 years?

Remember those images?

And many of us remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when we first heard the news of these terrorist attacks on American soil. That day in 2001 was as shocking to us baby boomers as when some of us had heard that President Kennedy had been shot in 1963. Or that morning when the space shuttle Challenger had exploded in 1985.

That day - September 11, 2001 - and following ...

American flags went up everywhere in my neighborhood.  One of the most famous images - Raising of the Flag at Ground Zero - appeared in all types of media. Politics as usual took a holiday as Democrats and Republicans seemed united for a change. The scheduled blood drive in my area for September 13 was so flush of volunteers that the attendants had to turn people away. We - the people - were all pulling together to get through this.

Prayer services ...

Back in 2001 ...
 
Houses of worship filled up in the following days. In New York City at citywide prayer service at Yankee Stadium on September 23, 2001, Mayor Rudy Giuliani delivered the following message: Archives of Rudolph W. Giuliani, 107th Mayor. (For the full service, check out - New York City Prayer Service - C-SPAN Video Library.)
 
Tributes and prayers were offered around the world: World reaction to 9/11  In London, England, the Archbishop of Canterbury at St. Paul's Cathedral held a memorial service, attended by the Royal Family: Battle Hymn of the Republic - London 2001

And now in 2011 ...

On this 10th anniversary, there will be many prayer services throughout the country - such as this one at the Washington National Cathedral: A Call for Compassion. One church in New York City, planted two blocks from Ground Zero shortly after the 9/11 attacks, will participate in a live webcast with the Saddleback Church on the West Coast: Rick Warren: 9/11 National Prayer Day Planned 2 Blocks From Ground Zero

Yet, no clergy or formal prayers will be allowed at Ground Zero ...

As of date of this post, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will not allow any clergy to offer formal prayers at the 10th anniversary of September 11. The mayor's spokesperson gave the rationale that the focus will be on the families of the thousands who have died.

Many have expressed dismay at such a decision as in this CNN article: 9/11 Ceremony won't include clergy or formal prayers. Though many have blogged about it and expressed their outrage, none of us can see the mayor's heart and discern his inner motives.  Yet, the fiat's of a mayor cannot suppress the expression of faith, especially those who have survived this attack.

Grace abounded and still abounds at Ground Zero

Here is a story of one of the survivors of the attacks on the World Trade Center - the Dawn Robinson Story. It is one of faith and prayer and triumph.

Through the Eyes of a Survivor:

Part 1



Part 2



Dawn Robinson's story demonstrates how the urgency of immediate deadlines can quickly become irrelevant when suddenly faced with eternity.

We all are only here a short time, even if we live a natural life and die from old age.  Even Moses, who lived well over 100 years, thought so.  After wandering 40 years in the wilderness, seeing his generation pass away, Moses reflected on his experience with this perspective of human mortality:

10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

11 Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.

12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

Psalm 90 (King James Version)

This Septemeber 11th -

May we never forget.

May we keep the faith.

Related posts:

from 2010: Dancing on Top of the World Trade Center

from 2009: One Tuesday in September, eight years ago ...

Photo from Wiki-Commons: National Park Service 9-11 Statue of Liberty and WTC fire