Resonance

Have you ever had deja vu? You know, that strange feeling that comes over you, where you feel like you've passed through that same moment in time, that same thought, once before? It's a really odd, other-worldly feeling.

Like deja vu, and equally intriguing, are moments I have experienced that I can only describe as "glimpses of God". Perhaps you have experienced these moments too.

Let me explain, first by making an analogy.

Remember physics class? Not a favorite topic for many folks, I realize -- so please bear with me for just a minute. Anyhow, one of the concepts we learned in physics was that of "resonance." Every object has a certain mass (think weight), and also a certain resonant frequency. The resonant frequency is the rate at which a particular object prefers to vibrate. A light object, like a leaf, prefers to vibrate at a different frequency than something heavier, like a bowling ball. If you wiggle an object (force it to vibrate) at its resonant frequency, it will vibrate wildly, almost out of control, compared to any other frequency of vibration you subject it to.

A good real-world example of this is the Tacoma Narrows bridge. On November 7, 1940, this suspension bridge was hit by exceptionally strong gusts of wind, which in turn caused a vibration in the bridge at the bridge's resonant frequency. At first the roadway on the bridge started waving like a ribbon in the wind, and eventually it shook so wildly it actually broke apart and fell into the river below. Check out this amazing actual video.

In our lives, there are certain times when something we've seen, heard, or experienced strikes a chord in our heart, and causes our emotions to resonate wildly out of control. Something that makes your heart well up and your tears flow, and you're not quite sure why.

Have you ever experienced these moments?

I believe these moments are common to all people, believers and non-believers alike. Why? Because God created all of us in his image, and those things which are part of His character naturally resonate in our hearts: things like love, honor, bravery, compassion, honesty, humor, loyalty, and beauty.

I also believe these experiences are given to us by God as a means to point us toward him. To a musician, a triumphant symphony approaches sonic perfection, and perhaps makes him wonder who wrote the "rules" that make music work, and why these sounds make him feel so good inside. To a nature lover, perfection is found staring up at the stars through a moonlit virgin forest with awe, and it might cause her to wonder how a such an incredible setting could be just a product of random chance.

When we read a story or see a movie that perfectly captures the concept of true love (Sense & Sensibility), or forgiveness (Les Miserables), or hope (Shawshank Redemption), or bravery (Saving Private Ryan), or wonder (The Velveteen Rabbit), or selflessness (Le Cadeau de Temps), we are intensely experiencing certain aspects of God's character. And those moments resonate in our hearts, for we are designed in his image.

In today's busy world, these moments are few and far between. But every so often, without warning, something comes along and makes me feel alive, full of wonder. It helps me catch a glimpse "through a glass, darkly"...

A glimpse of God.

Change

There's a book that's popular in the corporate world called "Who Moved My Cheese?" The story tells about two mice with different attitudes, who react differently when someone moves their cheese to a new location within their maze.

One mouse is set in his ways, used to his daily habit, and inflexible. The other mouse likes a challenge, is optimistic and highly flexible. As expected, the former mouse doesn't even try and go look to see where his cheese has gone, but the latter mouse sets out immediately to find it (and does).

The point of the analogy? Everything changes, and if you get stuck in the past, or even in the present, the world will pass you by. We must be flexible and constantly expecting change.

This is certainly true in the work world. Typewriter salesmen aren't making much money these days due to the the rise of the personal computer. Blockbuster is declining, Netflix is on the rise. AOL was huge in the early 90's, but almost nobody uses AOL anymore. Land-line phones are going away, replaced by cell phones. The world is changing rapidly, and we must be flexible enough to change with it or be left behind...

There's another similar book I've been reading at work which has really fascinated me. The premise of this book goes something like this (hang with me here...).

In the 1800's, the Industrial Revolution gave rise to the "factory worker", who spent long hours doing repetitive blue-collar work making things in factories. The result of this hard labor was a higher standard of living for most folks, who could now buy a variety of well-made stuff much more cheaply (think 1906 Sears catalog).

Over time, America's prosperity brought about new change. After WWII, much of the grueling factory work was sent overseas, to be done more cheaply in Japan. This gave rise to the white-collar "knowledge worker". This worker did well on the SAT test, went to college, studied hard, and landed an office job applying what he had learned as an engineer, lawyer, doctor, etc. The folks that succeeded at this were good at left-brained thinking, i.e. logical reasoning, cause and effect, mathematics, etc. These thinkers further raised the standard of living in America to the incredible level we enjoy today.

This is the America I grew up in. But, the author claims, another big change is just around the bend.

We are already seeing that, like blue-collar work 50 years ago, white-collar jobs are now being sent to low-cost countries like India and China. Many large corporations, like the one I work for, are sending their computer programming work overseas, to be done by well-educated Indian programmers earning less than a tenth of their American counterparts. It will not be enough anymore to be able to think logically and deductively -- there are people in third-world countries now who can do the same for much cheaper. Not to mention computers, which are replacing many repetitive "thinking" jobs.

So what will the successful worker of the 21st century look like?

This author claims that it will be those people who can do what the 3rd world workers and computers can't do: dream, create, and invent. The best jobs of the future will belong to those who have been looked down on during most of our generation: the artists, the musicians, the writers, the creators.

The future belongs to the dreamers, who thanks to technology are no longer limited by thoughts of "but how would I do that?" For example, PC software will make it possible for the least technical of us to create movies, produce music videos, create your own animated cartoons, etc. The technical side will no longer be the problem; we will only be limited by our own imaginations, our own creativity.

Soooo... what is the point of all this?

Well, for me, it has re-awakened in me the importance of creativity, of exercising the right side of my brain. I have decided to take some steps to re-awaken some of the creativity in me, the stuff we all thrived at when we were kids. Last week, I wrote a song (lyrics and music) for my band to play, and hope to continue to improve songwriting. Today at Target I bought a little sketch book, to try and get back into doing some drawing and sketching (which I have really neglected over the past ten years).

And last but not least, I did a little redesign of this blog page (in case you hadn't noticed). The images in the header all represent some of the things that interest me... sort of a visual representation of some of the things that make me...me.

Are you creating? Dreaming? Thinking about what could be? I hope so!