Wednesday 8th June – Songwriting Day 6
Religion has been kind of a trickey subject for me. Being raised in the protestant church (Sevent-Day Adventist) was the pivotal beginning of my journey with music. Most certainly my love for it. But lately I’ve been on a spiritual journey that is broadening my personal views on religion and spirituality.
Last year I declared myself a pantheist, less within the concept of multiple gods existing and more of multiple gods representing the same universal concept, albeit in different cultural contexts. You can check out my prose poem “Who Is The God Of Old” to get the idea. I believe that in every text, theological or philosophical, we can find truth to help guide our lives. No one religion has monopoly over it. What constitutes truth then depends on contextually reasoning through and finding practical meaning in what is presented by different schools of thought, rather than accepting and regurgitating every single word.
Hence, the Religious Mythos makes more practical sense to me than the organized religious structures that seek to police its parameters. For me science and religion arent at odds. They are complementary. One being what we do know so far from the poetic theological speculation of the other. The numbers, facts, and theories are all parts of the blueprint of an extraordinary creation that we are still unraveling.
Naturally, alongside this greater concept of God, I’ve become more intouch with the symbolism of the mythologies within my native Bantu culture: What the images and narratives meant for my ancestors as they learned and tried to make sense of their world, and how they carry wisdom for my own future as an African. It’s also why stoicism and its “everything is connected” type concept of nature has appealed to me greatly.
So, yesterday, I listened to an audio form a Christian youth seminar. Their discussion was on courtship. I got several really great tips from it. When I sat down to tackle the days prompt, “Back To Square One”, I was in the mind state that made me realise that I have never really rewritten something religious in a long time. Challenged and “in The Spirit”, I decided that’s the angle I would take with this one.
It didnt go as clean as I expected. I managed to get the structure and point of view right. I even created a cool RnB Acapella melody in the vein of Take 6. But I felt that the lyrics that would connect the list of words and images I came up with as I was building the concept (“He brings me back to Square one”) weren’t there yet. It’s like like there was an experience missing that I need to go through first to write this. I could have taken somebody else’s testimony but I felt that it has to be me.
If I’m going to be serious about this I want it to be genuine. It will also probably incorporate my new scope of spirituality instead of focusing singularly on this one manifestation of God. So I think I still have a way to go in my spiritual exploration to get what I’m looking for. I look forward to seeing where this song goes. I will certainly share any developments in the future.
I still pray, keep the Sabbath (A day of rest just makes sense in our overworked and overstimulated world), and go to church on occation. It has more meaning now that it did because it’s actually on my terms. Meditation, mental and physical calm, and fellowship are cornerstones to a healthy and balanced spiritual life. I just mix up where I meditate and reflect, aswell as what I’m reading and having conversations about, on different Saturdays. I’ll post up the list of books that have broadened my mind on spirituality and religion soon.
Still Water Reeds 