Hello, 25

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Adele was absent for a good while between 21 and 25, and she was busy. In mid-2011, (right around 21‘s success and release) Adele started dating Simon Konecki (who works in charity and water). They had a son in 2012 and got married in 2016 (in some places it says 2018), regardless of the marriage date, it means that when 25 came out, Adele and Konecki were parents and together (but not yet married). (Source) Shortly after formalizing their relationship, they separated. She filed for divorce in 2019, and they were divorced by 2021. (Source)

So, let’s zoom in a little on the timeline. When 25 launches, Adele is presumably happy and in a new stage of life. She is a mother and in a (what seemed like) happy relationship. This is her least heartbreaking album, one could argue. There is a different tone to it.

Adele relaunched herself into the world of music with her single, “Hello”. This song took six months to write. Yep, you read that right! Adele said about the song: “I felt all of us were moving on, and it’s not about an ex-relationship, a love relationship, it’s about my relationship with everyone that I love. It’s not that we have fallen out, we’ve all got our lives going on and I needed to write that song so they would all hear it, because I’m not in touch with them.” (Source) This is a departure from her previous songs.

The sense we get from this song is a solid block of maturity and adulting. She sounds really stable and settled in (which is refreshing).

The key vibe of album 25 is “nostalgia”. Apparently, it was a difficult album to record because she had writer’s block. (Source) After much persistence, she broke through.

“My last record was a break-up record, and if I had to label this one, I would call it a make-up record. Making up for lost time. Making up for everything I ever did and never did. 25 is about getting to know who I’ve become without realising. And I’m sorry it took so long but, you know, life happened.”

Adele

Let’s focus on “Hello” specifically. Adele starts out by pointing out that ‘time heals all wounds’ is a fallacy:

/They say that time’s supposed to heal ya
But I ain’t done much healing/

You can go years, decades, a life, being unhealed if you aren’t intentional.

/Hello, can you hear me?
I’m in California dreaming about who we used to be
When we were younger and free
I’ve forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet/

Here, Adele brings us to where she was when she was writing. She had come to California. She brings us into the present moment where she feels she is experiencing her “turning point” into adulthood. Apparently, she feels the weight that comes with adulthood. There is a level of ‘carefree’ that one loses in the process of growing up.

/There’s such a difference between us
And a million miles/

I find this remark about distance to be interesting. While it’s true that we can be literally distant from someone (miles and kilometers), we also grow in emotional distance. Personally, I think one of the biggest damages social media and all the technology have done is to feed us this idea that we need to somehow stay in touch with every single person we have crossed paths with. I fundamentally disagree with this. I think there are people who serve different roles in our lives, and some are there for a season, and don’t get me wrong, some are there for life. But it’s totally ok to not hold on so tightly to people. It’s ok to say “hello” from the other side.

When the chorus kicks in, we see someone who is reaching out to a person for various reasons, to apologize for breaking their heart, to check in… In the following verse she asks, “Did you ever make it out of that town where nothing ever happened?”

The following verse is emphasized:

/Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I’ve tried
To tell you I’m sorry for breaking your heart
But it don’t matter, it clearly doesn’t tear you apart anymore/

The verse has a flavor of repentance, “At least I can say that I’ve tried.” She also notes the indifference of the person she is trying to reach out to; it doesn’t “tear” them apart. When she calls, they never seem to be home. This reminds me of landlines and the good old days. The video, with its sepia tones that remind us of Instagram’s early limited filters and the “retro” phones evoke that nostalgia for when we had to coordinate calls with people or we were left to leave a message because whomever we were trying to reach was unavailable, didn’t want to pick up or was simply living life.

We land on the idea that while nostalgia can be nice, it can also lead us to lonely and empty places. Change happens. When we return to certain places and certain people, we are left “on the outside.” It’s part of life. Adele likes to take us to those places of searching. This song, while not of heartbreak, is no different.

Uninvited

gify

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Today’s song became Adele’s second number one in the U.S. “Someone Like You” hit the airwaves and stayed there on repeat. It’s one of the last songs on 21, and it makes sense. This song marks the end to the relationship the entire album talks about. The song serves almost as a punctuation mark.

About this song, Adele said, “When I was writing it, I was feeling pretty miserable and pretty lonely, which I guess kind of contradicts ‘Rolling in the Deep’. Whereas that was about me saying, ‘I’m going to be fine without you’, this is me on my knees really.” (Source)

Let’s take a look at the song, whose video just has her wandering the streets of Paris all sad.

“[…] ‘Someone like You,’ the stirring, somber closer in which Adele goes to visit a former love (with high hopes of a reconciliation), only to discover he has not only moved on with his life, but is in a much better place. And though she’s heartbroken, she puts on a brave face, stubbornly proclaiming she’ll find someone just like him, even if she knows that she never will. And that conclusion makes you ache not only because it’s so daunting, but because it’s so real. We’ve all felt that way, tried to trick ourselves into thinking that any other outcome was possible. In Adele’s music, much like life, there are no happy endings.”

James Montgomery of MTV News talking about “Someone like You”

/I heard that you’re settled down
That you found a girl and you’re married now
I heard that your dreams came true
Guess she gave you things I didn’t give to you/

Adele was in a relationship with a man she thought she was going to marry, and then, he broke up with her, and shortly after, she found out he was engaged. (Source) Then, she wrote this song. I won’t be snarky about this. I have a lot of empathy for what she went through, as just about the same thing happened to me around the same age. I find it interesting that this is what inspired this song, and yet it’s probably the song I like the least from her. I guess we all experience life so differently. She wrote a song about finding someone like the person who broke her heart. I was pretty damn sure I wanted the opposite of the person who broke mine.

She starts the song stating that she knows about his recent marriage. It’s like a sad confrontation is happening. She indicates this when she sings:

/I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited
But I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it
I had hoped you’d see my face
And that you’d be reminded that for me, it isn’t over/

Clearly, this is a person who hasn’t let go.

/Never mind, I’ll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you, too/

One thing that crossed my mind here is, why does she want to find someone like this? Clearly, if he broke her heart and then was engaged shortly after, this person is unstable and incredibly dishonest. Also, if supposedly the whole album is about him, then isn’t this the incredible manipulator and liar we found in “Rolling in the Deep”? WHY DO WE WANT SOMEONE LIKE HIM??

She states she wants the best for him, and yet is confronting him and begging him not to forget her. It’s like she wants a place and presence in his present (ignoring the fact that they are now part of each other’s pasts). Maybe the best for someone is to have us out of their lives, and better yet, it may be what is best for us (and they just did us a favor).

It’s a human thing to not want to be forgotten. (This is a big motivator for many of our actions, whether we realize it or not). I think we have all felt this at some point or another. We want things to matter for others as much as they mattered for us.

/You know how the time flies
Only yesterday was the time of our lives
We were born and raised in a summer haze
Bound by the surprise of our glory days/

A theme throughout the song is this romanticization of the past.

/Nothing compares, no worries or cares
Regrets and mistakes, they’re memories made
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?/

There is this idea in culture that it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all. I don’t know if that is entirely true every time. I think there are many relationships and interactions we would have been much better off without. I don’t think regrets and mistakes suddenly become justified because they are memories made. It would make more sense for us to really determine what kind of memories we want and to choose accordingly. The past doesn’t always have to be bittersweet, and yet it often is. Does that mean we just don’t choose well or is it just a part of being human? (Drop your thoughts in the comments).

Adele concludes singing:

/Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead/

It’s a divine thing to have love last. If we get Biblical– (yes, I am going Biblical), love endures all things. And yes, love can hurt, too. God is love, and He is pained when we choose something other than Him. Being made in His image, love brings us pain when someone chooses against our love. (We weren’t created to experience that or cause that). Something I find comforting about God is that, for Him, it’s not that love either lasts or hurts. His love for us lasts even when it hurts. Our humanity is too frail and broken to understand that. But someday, we will.

For now, we let go. We heal. We let Him put our hearts back together again. We leave the door to our hearts open. Sometimes, it’s not just the hurt that shows up uninvited. Sometimes, good things and good people show up uninvited, too. Leave room for the uninvited.

Deep

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Today, we are looking at “Rolling In the Deep” from Adele’s top-selling 21 album. This was the lead single and first song on the album. This song put her on the map! People say this was the biggest crossover hit since 1985. (Source) The song is another “scorned lover” ballad. Perhaps, this is Adele’s way of telling us that she is like Seth Cohen from the O.C. They excel at being rejected.

The song emerges after a breakup (naturally). Apparently, it was hitting her hard and Adele decided to tell a tour bus driver about it. You know that feeling, when something is bothering you and you just need to talk to someone about it. Adele told The Independent that apparently, this conversation did not go well. Adele said the song was a comeback after being told that “‘my life was going to be boring and lonely and rubbish, and that I was a weak person if I didn’t stay in the relationship. I was very insulted and wrote that as a sort of ‘f— you.'” The song was written that afternoon with Paul Epworth. (Source) This explains some of the fresh rage that is palpable when one listens to the song.

In this song, we see the typical Adele imagery; there is darkness, water falling, fire burning, and a heart in someone’s hands (not her own). Most, if not all, of this imagery is used in “Set Fire to the Rain”; see our discussion here.

The song starts off with a pretty good beat. Dare I say the song is almost upbeat? (Can something be sarcastically upbeat?) The beat is an element of the song, as she says the person who wronged her played her heart (to a beat). In the music video, we see the beat causing ripples in a room filled with glasses of water.

/There’s a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and it’s bringin’ me out the dark
Finally, I can see you crystal clear
Go ahead and sell me out and I’ll lay your sh** bare/

So, we start with fire. Adele loves her fire. It seems that in the context of this song, it’s a rage type fire. (You can let me know in the comments, if you feel differently). Like in many of her songs, she starts in darkness. This song is no exception. The fire is illuminating her space and taking her out of the darkness. Just as we see in “Set Fire to the Rain”, the songs spell out an arrival to clarity. When she sings of clarity in the video, the camera zooms in on clear glasses filled with water.

/See how I’ll leave with every piece of you
Don’t underestimate the things that I will do/

There is almost a level of threat here. She is threatening to leave him “bare,” and tells him not to underestimate her. She also previously mentions that “if he sells her out” she will respond. Who knows what this is in reference to?

/The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
I can’t help feeling

We could have had it all (You’re gonna wish you never had met me)
Rolling in the deep (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)/

So, we enter the chorus. She is declaring they could have “had it all”, but apparently, thanks to him, they do not. She has scars. Scars usually indicate healing, but that doesn’t seem to be the song’s vibe. Not with this level of rage. And then, one can’t help but ask… what does “Rolling in the Deep” mean? Apparently, “it is a nautical term used to denote the condition of utter hopelessness of a situation.” (Source) Nothing is saving this love. It’s a sinking ship.

In common Adele imagery, there is the idea of a partner holding a heart in his hands (always in the wrong hands).

/You had my heart inside of your hand/

There are several things this type of imagery evokes. It evokes a degree of powerlessness that seems to be an undercurrent in many of her songs. What happened was in someone else’s control, and she is wronged (repeatedly). There is also simply the element of a completely surrendered love that leaves you entirely vulnerable.

It’s clear she wants him to think about her and feel guilt and definitely despair about leaving her. She notes she is also there in the despair, as if it’s a place that she won’t share with him. My question is, is she there alone?

The bridge is filled with tons of Biblical imagery and language. We see references to the soul, “counting blessings”, treasure, sorrow and “reaping what you sow”.

/Throw your soul through every open door
Count your blessings to find what you look for
Turn my sorrow into treasured gold
You’ll pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow/

This idea of finding what you are looking for and reaping what one sows. The language here is very similar to a certain older version of Scripture. This adds to the poetry of the song. I’ll also note that some of the parting words in one of my most heartbreaking goodbyes was “I hope you find what you are looking for.” I tend to associate that type of sentiment with a permanent goodbye.

In the end, the song ends with a vengeance tone. Her whole thing is, “You’re gonna wish you never had met me”. Did he ever feel that way? Who knows? Maybe, he felt embarrassed when the album came out. Maybe, he moved on and lived happily ever after. The truth is that this song is more about how she feels. There is no controlling the other party. It’s sort of like a fountain of anger and yes, scorn, in my mind. It reminds me of the things we say to ourselves to feel better after being abandoned. And yet– I highly doubt anything here made the other party change his ways.

Maybe, rather than dwelling on the fact that we “could of had it all,” we could just focus on the fact that we didn’t (and perhaps that’s a good thing, and we can have better). (And for the love of all that is on fire, we should strive to put our hearts in the right hands). People can often reveal themselves to be extremely selfish and hurtful people, and then we pine for them. Our idea of “having it all” can at times exclude reality and who the person really was/is/chose to be. Too many lives get crushed into misery holding onto illusions.

One thing that rings true and gives every scorned lover hope is the fact that, yes, we always do reap what we sow. Here is to hoping none of you are “rolling in the deep”, right now. Turn the lights on, only put your heart in the hands that deserve it (and if it’s in the wrong hands, take it back. It’s yours), and don’t take bus driver advice too personally. In the end, the only one “rolling in the deep” will be you, if you allow the rage to consume you.

We Start at Nothing

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Scripture tells us that the day is made up of evening and morning. (Genesis 1:5) This is why Sabbath begins Friday sundown and ends Saturday sundown. As I have been examining what it means to rest, I was hit by a quote by Eugene Peterson, which says, “The Hebrew evening/morning sequence conditions us to the rhythms of grace. We go to sleep and God begins His work.” I would argue that Peterson is wrong in pointing to this as a Hebrew time structure. This was established at creation, long before Israel was formed and set apart. (The same can be said about the Sabbath. It is universal). The Scriptural day and division of time starts with us doing nothing and settling into the unconscious.

Tish Harrison Warren writes, “For Christians, the act of ceasing and relaxing into sleep is an act of reliance on God. What if Christians were known as a countercultural community of the well-rested– people who embrace our limits with zest and even joy?“

Why is rest so hard for us? Is it because it goes against our selfish nature to accept the humility of being a frail and finite little creature? We rebel against the notion (as Warren writes) that God is the only one who does not slumber or sleep. We must train ourselves in the humility of knowing and being comforted by this fact. Even while we rest in nothingness, we are held in His hands under His watchful eye.

Rain

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Today, we are looking at “Set Fire to the Rain” by Adele from her album 21. There is a shared element in this song with her song “Make You Feel My Love” from her album 19, and that is rain. It’s an imagery she uses often. Rain is something that can impair visibility. It’s dramatic. It’s about the dark, stormy and chaotic feelings. This song was her 3rd U.S. number 1 single. Entertainment Weekly called this a “scorned-woman balladry” (most of hers are).

When the song starts out, you think, Ah! A romantic ballad. But then, things take a turn. She starts with a degree of powerlessness. She sings about letting her heart fall and then someone “claims” it. It’s up for grabs, apparently, falling into an abyss. The fact that she lets it fall sort of indicates a carelessness and/or weakness to the action. And here comes this fine dude (note sarcasm) and catches it in his hands. Safety? Not really. Just goes to show that in a moment of weakness, we can be hunted like prey, so to speak.

There is a lot of contrasting imagery, here. There is the idea that she was lost, but then he saves her with a kiss. Often, in fairy tales, a kiss brought a princess back to life. It “saves” her. This is consistent with a powerlessness characterization of herself (and most Disney Princesses).

Also contrasting, there are the images of being strong and weak at the same time:

/My hands, they were strong
But my knees were far too weak/

We have this idea that her “hands are strong.” Hands are often tied to action. Knees are what allow you to move, though. So, it’s almost like she knows she has to take action, but she is paralyzed. More powerlessness. However, it’s important to note that as humans, we are complex beings. Contradictions make us.

Then, we have the characterization of who she has fallen for:

/All the things you’d say
They were never true, never true
And the games you’d play
You would always win, always win/

This is the truth about him. He is a liar (nothing is true; she does say “never”). He seems to be manipulative because she talks about games. He sounds like a winner.

She is stuck and confused. The confusion can be noted because even after revealing what is wrong with this man, she states that she feels she can lie there forever with him, and she states, “You and me together, nothing is better.”

So, what relief does the listener get? (I don’t think the listener is actually seeking relief, by the way). She does finally wake up, and she takes an action. She snaps out of her powerlessness and her waiting to be chosen, and she sets a fire:

/But I set fire to the rain
Watched it pour as I touched your face
Well, it burned while I cried
‘Cause I heard it screaming out your name
Your name/

She sets fire to the rain. Another interesting contrast. Rain is wet and doesn’t burn, it only drenches. Here, the rain drenches but with fire because somehow it consumes and burns. Rain is usually tied to some sort of cleansing element, and many times, so is fire. Also interesting is that they are both standing in it. We know this because she is close enough to touch his face. They are both burning, and she is crying.

Obviously, fire is often tied to elements like anger (and her voice unleashes an interesting fury and emotion at the chorus) and the scene of eternal damnation– but also, it represents passion and desire, and rebirth and resurrection. Another interesting element to fire is that it brings light. In the beginning, she says she let her heart fall when it was dark. At this point, she changes that. Fire illuminates, especially if it falls like rain, canceling out the bad visibility.

The fire here “screams out” his name. The fire isn’t crackling or dying, but it’s “pouring.” It’s steady and consistent. When something burns, it changes composition and often cannot go back to its original pre-fire form. It is altered forever.

She sets the fire, and yet she is saddened by it. Another contrast of ideas. It’s like when you do something because it’s for your good, but it brings you pain, even though you know it’s right. Also, going back to the fact that they are both standing in it, a part of her is also being destroyed. Maybe she sees it as a heart suicide.

This fire marks the end of something, when she sings at the end:

/I set fire to the rain
And I threw us into the flames
When we fell, something died
‘Cause I knew that that was the last time
The last time, oh/

When thinking about this song, it’s easy to just dive in headfirst to discuss what makes an unhealthy relationship. Clearly, there are a lot of obvious things we can point to: her self-perceived lack of choice and “falling” into the situation, the constant deception (and the unhealthy fact that she weirdly feels amazing around someone who lies to her repeatedly)… We also see that in the end, reality is more powerful than feelings.

Another thing we see clearly is that when it comes to relationships, without integrity and honesty, we have nothing but darkness. Love isn’t a game that someone wins. We need to set a clear definition of what love is and make sure we set a standard for those around us (as to how we want to be loved and treated).

But I guess the greater mystery that I can’t even begin to tackle is how to we end up in these toxic situations. Is it that we see the signs and ignore them? Is it that we don’t see the signs at all? (And how does this happen? Is it lack of guidance, culture, youth, stupidity, misplaced hope?) Is it based on our past perceptions of what is acceptable in love? I mean some people gravitate toward dysfunction because it feels normal and yet some choose the opposite for the same reasons. I guess there is no one answer to this. I’ve seen intelligent, attractive, and even experienced people fall into these dynamics. I don’t know.

All I do know is that we at some point need to reflect long enough to see the patterns and stop the cycle. One thing we can take for certain from this song is that change or an end to something toxic takes action. The action may be painful. It may “burn” us too, so to speak. Often, an end to something feels like it will destroy us, but it results in something new.

Is our rage part of what helps us forgive ourselves and heal? I don’t know. (There are a lot of “I don’t know”s in this post. I know). Let me know your thoughts in the comments. I won’t pretend to know the answers to these complex questions. Maybe, we are all handicapped when it comes to love just due to our nature and whatever holes exist in our hearts.

What I do know for sure is that you shouldn’t settle for less. You were made for true love. You weren’t made for rain but for sunshine.

Make You Feel

By: Gabriela Yareliz

It’s 2022, and I thought, Why not another music series? You all have really liked these. As you know, I am not the person who always has headphones in, listening to music. I am usually listening to a podcast, if anything. (Or, I am talking to my mom or my abuela).

We’ve looked at deep songwriters like Gwen Stefani, and some artists where their music isn’t as profound, but it marks their journey through life (dating, marriages, affairs, loss), see JLO and Beyonce. So as I thought, Who else can we analyze the hell out of? There has been one person on my radar for a while– she has incredible talent as a vocalist and songwriter. A jackpot. She sort of came out of nowhere and is one of the world’s best-selling artists– Adele. I remember being in the walkway by the student center at UF. My friend popped her headphone into my ear and was like, Listen to this. We sat there on a bench. We both were solemn. Didn’t move. Her unfamiliar voice was powerful and authoritative. It sort of cuts through you. Man, this is depressing, I thought.

I still think that. Her music puts me in a weird frame of mind. It’s not something I play often, but there is a lot to be said about it. I recognize that. Her music is something people identify with. There is an element of heartbreak and sorrow to it all, so I feel like her albums are a soundtrack for the broken hearted.

Her first album, 19, was considered an “‘essential’ blue-eyed soul recording.” (Source) She had a tour in 2008-2009, and she canceled some dates outside of the UK to be with a former boyfriend. Key word, “former.” I am not kidding. This type of action sort of reflects who she is, someone centered on relationships from a very young age. This isn’t something that makes her unique. Most young love has flavors of dysfunction in it, just simply due to the lack of maturity of the parties.

Adele comes off as a suffering old soul mixed with a needy insecure woman due to her voice and lyrics; she sometimes gives me Taylor Swift vibes. She sings with strength, but her lyrics are often riddled with victim red flags. It’s that whole, let-me-love-you, you-have-no-idea-how-great-I-really-am vibe. She has done well capitalizing on her sorrows (sometimes self-inflicted). I’ll give her that.

She said to Nylon magazine about her canceled tour dates: “I can’t believe I did that. It seems so ungrateful… I was drinking far too much and that was kind of the basis of my relationship with this boy. I couldn’t bear to be without him, so I was like, ‘Well, I’ll just cancel my stuff then.'” According to sources, she calls this her “early-life crisis,” but if her music is any indicator, I think she has been someone who has perpetually been in crisis (and she brings anyone who will come along for the ride). Recently, she “postponed” (though some say canceled) her Vegas residency amidst rumors of a current volatile relationship with boyfriend, Rich Paul. Maybe some things never change, and people sort of gravitate toward dysfunction.

Maybe, I am jumping the gun, though. Unlike with Gwen Stefani (whose obsession and other red flags I pointed out fairly, might I add), I am not a super fan of Adele. I also don’t dislike her, either. I am pretty neutral on this one. I want to try to be as fair as possible. So, let’s walk through her music, and see what we can gather and learn. If we are smart, there are many eloquently worded lessons tucked away in every belted-out number album that came our way. Maybe, they are lessons on what not to be, but those are lessons, nonetheless. I am intrigued by what makes people so in love with her music.

The cover of Adele’s first album, 19. Our first wave of crisis.

One of her first singles was “Make You Feel My Love.” One thing is certain, no matter which song of hers you listen to, she will make you feel something. Maybe that is what hooks people in.

The Ross Geller ‘Hi’

By: Gabriela Yareliz

There are people who say ‘hi’ like Ross Geller.

As Joey states, they make you depressed when you interact with them. It’s like they are never ok. In fact, you are in a bad mood before you even speak to them because you know what is coming. You armor up.

I was reading about gratitude this morning in Uprising by Erwin McManus. He interestingly states that perpetual brokenness is often dependent on a lack of gratitude. We are all broken to one degree or another. We all have cracks, but note it says ‘perpetual brokenness.’

He states, “Whatever else we may need, whatever support systems might be helpful to us, whatever insights or truths may aid us in the journey, nothing will heal us if we are ungrateful. No truth, no matter how profound, will find its way into a heart that is absent of gratitude.”

Sometimes, life is hard. Oftentimes, it is. And yet we get nothing from trying to one-up each other with misery or spreading our own misfortune. I have heard people compete on how scared or cautious they are or how miserable they can make those around them. (These are often the dumb conversations that fill empty Zoom space). We should have our moments as humans in the flesh, but I like this emphasis on the fact that there is always a way to frame something that is happening in the frame of gratitude. Even in the mess, there are helpers; there are little gifts; there are things we are spared from.

I also found interesting that our lack of gratitude not only makes us and those around us miserable, but it also blocks our healing and truth from entering in. We imprison ourselves (and sometimes hold others hostage, if they get too close). We become sort of deaf and blind to the good that may be around us.

In short, don’t be Ross. Be Joey.

Favorite January 2022 Quotes

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Here are the handful of quotes that stayed on my mind throughout the month of January 2022:

Understanding

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” Attributed to Marie Curie

Fear really distorts things for us. Understanding takes time, attention, intentionality, pause. The pause is well worth it. It prevents the spiral.

Power

“The real measure of our power is the freedom and opportunity we create for others. Men and women who are marked by integrity point the way to freedom.” Erwin McManus, Uprising

Power lies in servanthood. Freedom is a value that is born from courage and integrity.

Cruelty

“God never forces the will or the conscience; but Satan’s constant resort—to gain control of those whom he cannot otherwise seduce—is compulsion by cruelty. Through fear or force he endeavors to rule the conscience and to secure homage to himself. To accomplish this, he works through both religious and secular authorities, moving them to the enforcement of human laws in defiance of the law of God.”
Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 591

We must check everything against the law of God, which is a reflection of His character. What Scripture reveals to be His character is the standard of all. To know, we must invest our hearts in the reading of it and in the search for truth.

Language

“Without language one is lost, hopelessly lonely.” Bonhoeffer

Words have power. So does silence. It’s the difference between trust and distrust, company and loneliness, connection and disconnect.

Fight

“The nights you fight best are when all the weapons are pointed at you, when all the voices hurl their insults while the dream is being strangled. The nights you fight best are when reason gets kicked in the gut, when the chariots of gloom encircle you. The nights you fight best are when the laughter of fools fills the air, when the kiss of death is mistaken for love. The nights you fight best are when the game is fixed, when the crowd screams for your blood. The nights you fight best are on a night like this as you chase a thousand dark rats from your brain, as you rise up against the impossible, as you become a brother to the tender sister of joy and move on regardless.” Charles Bukowski

This one needs no explanation.

Happy Chinese New Year to those who celebrate. Let’s do this, February!

xx

Courage

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Recently, I saw someone write that “courage is a blessing.”

A fact in human history is that there are people who have the audacity to do some pretty terrible things or to tell bold lies. We need more people who have the courage to do the right thing. Those who don’t discard integrity, but cling to it. Those who aren’t shut in by the circumstances, but those who step boldly outside of them and forward into a different future.

I had already been thinking about this when I started reading Uprising by Erwin McManus (2003), which had been on my Kindle for ages. He examines the principles of humility, courage and integrity and how they all intersect. I am sure this is not a coincidence. “The quest for honor begins with a humility that leaves us empty. This is not an emptiness that makes us hollow, but a humility that makes us teachable,” he writes.

He writes about the people who have had courage but use it to do bad things that hurt themselves, others and society. McManus explores the concept that, often, we use this idea of being “authentic” to act boldly on impulses. “Our prisons are filled with men and women who acted on feelings and impulses. If authenticity is about being true to yourself, these individuals should be our models of inspiration.” And yet we know that’s not true– authenticity and true courage are more complex than just acting. He stresses that, “Authenticity without integrity is lethal. To be authentic when our hearts are dark and corrosive is equivalent to opening a Pandora’s box.”

So, what does it mean to have integrity and be authentic? “Integrity is the context from which courage is formed. Integrity, like wholeness, is a by-product of our spiritual integration,” McManus writes.

What happens when we have integrity? “How we live becomes a genuine expression of what we care about. We are no longer guided by laws, but by values. While religion works to strain our actions from the outside, God always works from the inside out.” We aren’t motivated by the thoughts of others but rather by the desire to have God’s image shining through us.

Why should we walk in integrity? We are imitators of Christ. “That Jesus walked in integrity at all times, even when it cost Him His life, was the ultimate proof of who He was. When we are defined by integrity, we respond with moral courage. Courage is the ultimate expression of integrity. Integrity gives us the courage to walk in truth even when it means walking straight into the mouth of the dragon.”

I have been thinking a lot about integrity, humility and courage. McManus writes the truth when he states, “When we lack integrity, we live in fear.” Nobody has time for that. Forget the fear. It’s time to build our expression of courage. Life demands it.

God demands it:

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:7-9

Almanac Note: The Robin

From Unsplash

By: Gabriela Yareliz

Robins have always been my favorite bird. They were always perched by my window just around my birthday in Michigan, while growing up. So, imagine my joy when I saw a little section dedicated to the Robin in my little British Almanac.

I learned they are one of the few birds that keeps singing into the depths of winter. “Their large eyes mean they are well attuned to dusky light, and they are often among the first birds to start singing in the morning and the last to stop at night.” (The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2022, Lia Leendertz). I didn’t know this but part of the reasoning behind their singing is to defend their territory.

People also say that the red breast was a “splash of the blood of Christ” as the bird sang to comfort Him while on the cross. I found this all very interesting. I think the Robin offers us some valuable spiritual lessons:

a. Sing: I was reminded of the Pathfinders, which is sort of like my church’s Boy/Girl Scouts club for teens. Part of the creed is you make a promise to keep a song in your heart. The Robin is the first to start singing and the last to stop. Music has the power to change our dispositions. Hell, I think it was Bono who said music has the power to change a life. Much of Scripture is written music and poetry. Music is a form of worship. In these trying times, one would do well to rise up and make sure one has a song on one’s heart.

b. Defend: A Robin sings to defend its territory. It is a very territorial bird. I saw a quote by Bobby Sausalito that said, “Defense, duty and self-preservation is inherently inconvenient.” We often take this posture in life that we are here to enjoy or have an easy ride, and if you don’t have that, you are doing something wrong or not “manifesting” it enough. But in the other words by Bobby Sausalito, “The world is garbage.” Yes, the world is a dumpster fire, and the truth is that we aren’t here for easy. We are here taking part in what Scripture reveals to be a spiritual battle. “Bravery is a decision. Courage is a decision. Greatness is a decision. Effort is a decision. Freedom is a decision. Inaction is surrender.” (Bobby Sausalito) So, rather than wishing for some fake alternate reality that will never come true, what if we armored up, kept that song in our hearts and defended what is ours? Our minds, our hearts, our families. Many will say it’s inconvenient, however, we were born for such a time as this.

c. Covered: Was there a Robin at the cross? Probably not. (I wasn’t there, though). That whole explanation for the red breast sounds like a great folktale to me. One thing I do know is that we are never alone. And what the Robin’s red breast does remind us of is that when we enter into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, we are covered by his blood. We are covered by His love, righteousness and strong right hand.

He has saved us. He will defend us. He will strengthen us. He will place a song in our heart. No matter what happens, we too can sing into the depths of winter.