Life is a symphony.
And we must play to the tune.
This is a paraphrase from Sufi musician Hazrat Inayat Khan.
Quite frankly, it’s brilliant in premise and rings quite true in all that we do.
Is not the purpose of every member of society to pay his dues and play his part?
I’ve been reading through Plato’s “Republic” as of late, and this idea is one of many conveyed by the book.
In an ideal society, each member should have his job and specialize in it; to excel in every aspect of said job, that is to truly contribute to society.
As much as I admire individualism (and most of the Western world along with me), it certainly has its flaws, flaws which the collective more than makes up for.
Can a single factory worker make up an entire assembly line?
Can a lone policeman keep order in the whole of a nation?
Can a stray violinist play out the entirety of Mozart-?
No, not by any means.
Individualism is not the separation of a person from the rest of society, leading their own life is defiance of all others, but rather the freedom of the individual to find his own ways to help contribute to the greater society.
In an unfree society, the individual is told exactly what to do in his or her life- exactly what instrument to play.
In a truly free society, however, the individual is free to find for himself which instrument he is best at, which part he plays the best, in order to provide his talents as a player in the grand orchestra.
It should be quite clear the meaning of what I say now that I’ve taken some time to explain it…
But, you see, something is still not right.
There are still thousands roaming the world who know exactly what instrument to play, exactly what they excel at and specialize in, who still feel as if they play no part in the music.
Simply drifting off into nothingness, they are filled with bitterness, anger, and resentment- nothing but a numb feeling at their fingers.
What have they done wrong?
Why don’t they feel as much a part of the orchestra as any other-?
The answer’s simple.
You cannot play along to the tune of you’re not even watching the maestro.
The conductor, the orchestrator- the man standing at the head, swinging his arms in rhythm and providing the direction of the symphony.
How will you ever manage to play the song well if you have no guidance to do so-?
Of course, in this metaphor, I am referring to God.
If all of society and all of life is an orchestra, then only God can be the conductor.
To deny such would be unthinkable.
After all, it has already been firmly established life has purpose by the orchestra metaphor provided previously- all of society works for something, thus there is purpose within it. No group can work without leadership, thus the need for a “maestro”, someone higher than the players themselves, able to guide and lead the symphony to glory.
The only being who could be described as such would, by definition, be God.
As a longtime Christian- especially in the non-denominational sector- worship has always bothered me.
It feels no different than a rave or a rock concert; loud guitars, banging drums, shouts and voices.
While I no doubt believe it is a form of worship, certainly, I don’t believe it’s the best.
If God is the maestro, then he would want something truly orderly, truly glorious, a true display of His wonders and His works.
Compared to the organized chaos of the drum and guitar, wouldn’t it make more sense for the Lord to favor the grace of the hymn & chorus?
The bow & string?
The majesty of the symphony-?
I believe so.
Every action performed in tandem… Not a note without purpose… Every action we make, every step we take, all plays a part of this grand orchestra.
No chaos.
No disorder.
Only harmony.
The absolute definition of perfection.
Of course, we will never achieve something like this here on Earth, but we could certainly get close- each one of us playing our notes to the best of our ability, until the day the curtains close and we finally take our bow.
Only then will we be whisked away past the applause of the audience, to the realm where there is nothing but perfect harmony for all our days to come.
So let’s play well while we still have the chance, shall we-?
Peter J. Chesterton 