It's been a time of getting back to basics for me lately. I'm rediscovering the beauty of the Bible. Not that I ever stopped reading it, but one can read the Bible in different ways and to discover different things. Recently I've really enjoyed the simple beauty of passages like the 23rd psalm and the gospel of Mark. Both very different works, by the way. But similar in their simple, and profound beauty. For instance I've spent a lot of time considering the ways in which my Shepherd "makes me lie down in green pastures" and what that means for me on a day to day or moment by moment basis. And I've though a lot about the theme of rest in the book or Mark and how Jesus is continually in need of rest, but wherever he goes, people find him and his apostles disturb him and he can't even get through a meal or a prayer or a nap without interruption from people in need. And he always meets the need, without bitterness or self pity. And then I've been thinking a lot about the fact that I'm not Jesus. But I am his sheep. And the sheep can rest precisely because their shepherd does not. The implications spin out in a million directions.
In addition to the Bible, I've been rediscovering Bob Dylan's catalogue. I recently picked up The Bootleg Series Volume 8 as well as Bringing it All Back Home and Planet Waves. And I have come to a conclusion. I don't need to listen to any music other Bob Dylan. Nobody does, really. From now on, it's Bob and only Bob for me. It's like the atkins diet for my ears.
Here are a few songs for you that capture the tenor of our lives for the past few months. Why is it that listening to sad songs makes a guy feel better? Click the little blue triangle to listen to song segments, and for petesake- get your hands on some Dylan albums this year.
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/node/140
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/node/855
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/node/90
http://www.bobdylan.com/#/node/195
