Daily Nourishment for July 13, 2024: Why Do We Need the Arts? with Guidance from a Conversation with Jessica Mesman and James K. A. Smith
Daily Nourishment Read Time: 40 seconds
Pause/Prompt/Practice Time: 15 minutes
“The Spirit is operative in spaces and places and institutions outside the church.” - James K. A. Smith
Pause.
Take six deep breaths with a six-count inhale and a six-count exhale then daydream or close your eyes and rest for a few minutes.
Prompt.
Read this quote from James K. A. Smith from the “Why Do We Need the Arts? A Conversation with James K. A. Smith” episode of Image podcast:
“Why we want everyone to experience the arts is because it's another way of being fully alive, otherwise there are parts of us, our imagination lies dormant and it's shriveled and it's written over by pragmatism and consumption and all these kinds of things. And we're less human. We're not what God made us to be. We're not the image bearers we were made to be.”
In that same podcast episode, Jessica Mesman quotes something Smith wrote when he was the editor at Comment: “If the believer is haunted by an echoing emptiness, the unbeliever can be equally haunted by a hounding transcendence.”
Smith adds this: “I think it's the space that can only be grappled with artistically. There's not really a didactic way of grappling with that. You need the supple, expansive stretching of imagination to be able to do that. I've been thinking a lot, the Roman poet Terrance has this line, ‘nothing human is alien to me,’ and I just find that so suggestive of late.
The arts are part of what help us to imagine solidarity with one another. That seems like a very timely need, but it's precisely the space of the arts. I think that helps to bring those two people together in the same room, the same gallery, so to speak, and hopefully understand one another, but also find a lot of grace and forgiveness for.”
Practice.
Set a timer for 10 minutes and journal or take notes in response to the words above and/or the questions below:
How does engaging with the arts make you feel more alive?
How does engaging with the arts affect your work, creative process, and relationships with other people?
How do you notice the presence of the divine in the arts?
How does engaging with various forms and genres of art help you connect with other people, even people with whom you have different political or religious views?
Want More?
Listen to the entire episode here.
Read the latest issue of Image.
If you’d like to subscribe to Image, here’s a discount link for $30 for a full year’s subscription.
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This Daily Nourishment offering touches on some of the reasons I love attending the Glen Workshop. Jamie and Jessica no longer work for Image, but the spirit of their conversation remains. During the month of July, Spiritual Direction for Writers® Daily Nourishment will feature Glen Workshop facilitators and other Glen-ish people, places, and things. Enjoy!
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Upcoming Workshops & Gatherings
—The July Co-Writing Schedule is live.
—July 13-18: $11 Summer Book Sale— Subscribe to the SDW Newsletter here to learn more—Sale launches on the afternoon of 7/13.
—July 21-27: Charlotte Donlon will provide a few spiritual direction offerings at the Glen Workshop in Seattle
—July 27: Online Revision Stations Designed by Lauren F. Winner
—Save the Date: Spiritual Direction for Writers® + Enneagram for Creativity Gathering will take place on Saturday, September 28th. Recordings will be available if you can’t join us live. Speakers will be announced soon!
Today’s Daily Nourishment was provided by Charlotte Donlon.
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