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Limitless Living
Popular culture encourages us to “Live Life without Limits”. And there’s a slew of books with authors willing to tutor us on how this style of living might be accomplished. Of course, most of these authors would have to acknowledge that we all will die. Therefore this collection of work can’t assert that life is limitless. More reasonably these authors suggest how we might best live this temporal life we’ve each been granted.
The 2011 Sci-Fi movie Limitless, addressed this question about limitless living from the perspective of almost limitless mental capabilities. In summary, a lazy unmotivated bum is given a super drug that unlocks pert near unlimited logic and reasoning skills. His life is radically changed, mostly to the positive, but not totally so. Super hero movies, like Limitless or Superman have been popular, in part, because limits are less consequential. One might wonder, if everyone were a super hero would limitless living be realized, or is it all just relative?
Living certainly seems to have limits, some of which appear to be set at the time of birth by DNA, social class and family. In the extreme, culture might assert that sex, race, physical or mental abilities aren’t real limits. Are our defining traits, including those from our DNA, more malleable than absolute? If 'everything is possible when you open your mind’, does that allow living without limits and make for a meaningful life?
Limited Living
One of the inspirations for this month’s update was a Tim Westermeyer podcast on "The Beauty of Limits.” Tim comments that we often voluntarily choose to limit ourselves. And contrary to what might be expected, some self imposed limitations may have wonderful consequences or beautiful outcomes. Click or tap on the preceding link, or on the picture of Therese to hear Tim Westermeyer’s short, 10 minute, podcast. Among other things, you’ll hear about Therese of Lisieux, who died of tuberculosis when she was 24 years old. By today’s standards she was limited in so many ways. She acknowledged that her limitations made her small. Yet Therese’s living with limitations allowed her to focus on the value of simplicity, doing small things well, and trying to do all with love. Her faith relationship engendered a more humble, yet still positive and outward oriented perspective on living. Here is a quote from Therese of Lisieux: “Remember that nothing is small in the eyes of God. Do all that you do with love."
Can a hard, small and short life result in a more meaningful life’s experience than a long and large life of luxury?
Westermeyer’s podcast concludes by exploring the thought that art is limited, and because this is so, the wonder and beauty of art is meaningful. If art, in all its’ forms, was unlimited would it still be as beautiful?
St. Therese of Lisieux
ALL HALLOWS EVE, REFORMATION, ALL SAINTS DAY
If one recognizes that our temporal life is limited by death, then this time of year, the conjunction of All Hallows Eve (Halloween) and Reformation Day on October 31st, with All Saints Day on November 1st, is interesting to consider. If there is a common thread, it is that all of these events have connections or associations with our limited life or death, and the hereafter. The Celtic origin of Halloween was more secular or pagan. This festival (originally Samhain) recognized the end of the farming and harvest seasons. It also was thought to be a day when the spirits of the dead might mischievously return to their homes. Costumes were a part of this not so solemn, but a little fearful festival which later was known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. All Hallows Day, now All Saints Day was a solemn commemoration of those who have died and were now separated from us physically, but had attained heaven. Similar to how Fat (Shrove) Tuesday precedes Ash Wednesday, so the festivities of Halloween precede a more somber, and at times sad, All Saints Day.
The Reformation challenged the practice of the church at that time, which asserted that attaining heaven was limited or at least delayed unless monetary indulgences were given to the church by the departed’s loved ones. The timing (All Hallows Eve) of Luther’s posting of his 95 Theses on the door of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church), in Wittenberg was not just coincidental. Luther’s trick or treat door knocking/nailing was timed to maximize impact and keep the focus solely on Christ’s redemptive work.
See the more festive family Halloween photos that follow as part of this update. More somber commemorations that we will, or have cherished include:
- The National Lutheran Choir All Saints Day Service titled "New Life” will be live-streamed on November 5th at 3p (MST), and available on YouTube thereafter.
- Kim Andre Arnesen’s "Tuvayun - Beatitudes for a Wounded World” was shared by the Augustana Chancel Choir and the Colorado Chorale. What a timely and memorable work of art beautifully framed by Matthew, Chapter 5. The Beatitudes were the appointed pericope reading for All Saints Day this year. The embedded link samples the music of Tuvayun. All the music is available on Apple Music, and likely other sites.
