Wednesday February 21, 2007
Excellence in living
This weekend, we will be treated – if that\’s the right word – to endless coverage of the Oscars. We\’ve already had the Golden Globe awards, the Genies, and the East Coast Music awards. Western Music awards and television Emmies are, mercifully, not due until fall. The Juno awards will be presented April 1.
Do you ever get the feeling that if what you\’re doing doesn\’t qualify for some kind of an award, it\’s not worth trying?
A few months ago, Joan and I went to a piano recital by Sarah Davis Beuchner, a native of the Bronx currently on the Faculty of Music at the University of British Columbia. She played Gershwin with a vigor and virtuosity that earned her several standing ovations.
In that context, we were clearly applauding the performer.
About a year earlier, I listened to massed choirs performing J.S. Bach\’s St. Matthew Passion, considered one of the greatest sacred choral works ever composed. I didn\’t enjoy it as much as Gershwin – the multiple melodic lines felt like a wall of sound falling on me.
But I was overwhelmed with awe at an intellect that could hold all those elements in his mind and weave them together at the end.
In that context, we were applauding the virtuosity of the composer.
Awards for everything else
We have awards for arts. We have awards for science. We have awards for sports.
Why, I wonder, do we not have any awards for life? For outstanding examples of what it means to live life fully, sensitively, compassionately, neither being a steamroller nor a doormat?
It\’s not the same thing as the Nobel Peace Prize, although a number of winners might qualify – the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Dag Hammerskold…
But not all of them. Mother Theresa of Calcutta reputedly had a fairly acid tongue for those whose actions failed to live up to their words. Martin Luther King Jr. has been called a womanizer. Albert Schweitzer could be difficult to work with.
And certainly the recent nomination of Rush Limbaugh would not qualify. Limbaugh, in case you missed it on his syndicated broadcasts, claims that women didn\’t do as well as men on multiple-choice tests, because God gave Eve a choice “between multiple choice or multiple orgasms.”
He also declared, “Feminism was established to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society.”
And in case you\’re thinking he limited his scorn to women: “Why should Blacks be heard? They\’re 12% of the population. Who the hell cares?”
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If you want to order my books, you can call 1-800-663-2775 in Canada, 1-800-328-0200 in the U.S., or order them on-line at the Wood Lake Books website.
For a lighter look at ethics, faith, and life, I recommend Ralph Milton\’s weekly e-newsletter Rumors. You can subscribe to it at the Wood Lake Books home page in Ralph Milton\’s Site, or by sending a note directly to [email protected].
It\’s also worth pursuing Charlene Fairchild\’s United Online site. Another site worth visiting is David Keating\’s \”SeemslikeGod\” page.
Most of us will never excel in chemistry or mathematics, in literature or drama – let alone in insults. We will never be Oscar Peterson or Meryl Streep.
But every one of us has the opportunity to live our own lives to the best of our ability – bringing out the finest in ourselves and in those around us.
Maybe we need an award that celebrates something we can all emulate in our own small corner of the world – virtuosity in living.
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Copyright © 2006 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups permitted; all other rights reserved.
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