Rising Above the Chaos
I was listening to a classical music program on the radio. It was about Beethoven. He composed his last piano concerto under stressful conditions. There was a war going on and the noise of the cannons was painful for him, especially because of his hearing problem. A friend loaned Beethoven the use of his house in the country, allowing him to move out of the city. Even then, in the basement of this friend’s house, with pillows over his ears to block out the war noises, the situation was traumatic for him. Yet, he composed his last piano concerto. You might well think that the music of the concerto would be full of anger, even rage and hate as a reaction to the circumstances under which he had had to create.
When I listened to the concerto, I heard incredible beauty, calm and harmony. I would never have thought there was a war going on when Beethoven composed this. He had risen above the world’s chaos and his own emotions to assert his seniority, as spirit, and express the beauty within him.
I believe we all have the same challenge each day – to ground and center, rising above the chaos of the world and our own emotions. Each of us is spirit in a body and a part of the beauty of God.
