One of the things I like most about the Stories from the Jukebox Writing Group, is the challenge it provides each week. SFTJ allows me to explore songs and topics that I wouldn’t normally write about. It not only makes me a better writer. But it often prompts me to ask difficult questions. And I love the eclectic vibe of having a guest or subscriber pick each week’s prompt! Challenge Accepted!
How would you like to pick our prompt? Find out how to join our revolving list of Headliners here.
But boy oh boy, did this week’s prompt ask a lot of me. I literally put my head in my hands when I saw the title, Hallelujah. I just did it again, rubbing my forehead and eyes before I finished this paragraph.
No eintendo.
I’ve mentioned before, when speaking of Good Boy Records gospel album, Memphis Gospel Got Soul, how I’ve missed gospel music since shedding the christian faith. And what a relief it was to be able to listen to gospel again, that I could nod my head along to. But what I didn’t realize until this week, was the negative connotation that instantly pops up, when I hear, read, or see anything christian.
I automatically assume bias. I see exclusionism and dogma, in all of it. I have made it an enemy, in my own mind. I’ve even caught myself not wanting my grandson to point out the “church” with its steeple and flag. And that is not how I want to see things. I do not believe Christians are the enemy. I love everyone. I see divinity in all.
But isn’t Hallelujah, just another example of Christians taking something else, and claiming it as their own? After all, it’s a Jewish term. “Hallelujah” is an interjection derived from Hebrew that translates to “praise Yah”.
This is where my mind went at first. And, I didn’t like it. So I sat with it for a while.
But the more I listened to, and read about this song, the more I realized that I am the one who was being biased in this instance. I am being an exclusionist. Not one of us owns anything, outright. We are all just a piece of the whole.
“When one looks at the world, there’s only one thing to say, and it’s hallelujah.” -Leonard Cohen
Then the poem, The Bell And The Blackbird, by David Whyte appeared in my morning studies. (Read here, Listen here)
And Bill’s Headliner, That’s One Way To See It, landed right after that. “It’s not that they were wrong to believe what they said. It’s that there is no room for open discussion, for exploration and individual choice.”
And I realized:
To be a true student of philosophy, I must be willing to look from every view, without bias. I cannot allow myself to make rash assumptions, just because I once saw a subject from the same angle. Nothing is excluded from the everlasting change of time and space. So the view now will be different from the one I remember. And to be just towards it, I must withhold judgment.
Wow. That gave me a shiver.
I still say thank you before a meal. Just because I don’t pray to a deity in the sky any longer, doesn’t mean I am not thankful. Instead, I choose to thank the ones I’m with for giving of themselves — their time, their effort, or for just being.
So I can also say, Hallelujah! I am thankful for all that is!
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Hallelujah! I’m thankful for you. Hallelujah! I’m thankful for Christians. Hallelujah! I’m thankful for Muslims. Hallelujah! I’m thankful for Buddhist. Hallelujah! I’m thankful for Hindus. Hallelujah! I’m thankful for Atheist. Hallelujah! I’m thankful for Philosophers. Hallelujah! I’m thankful for Americans. Hallelujah! I’m thankful for all the citizens of the World. Hallelujah! Eintendo.
Isn’t it wonderful, how refusing to allow negativity to take hold — how, just giving the different view a chance — how withholding judgment, allows one the opportunity to see things more clearly?
By hitting the Pause Button and sitting with the discomfort, I was able to take a more objective look at what this prompt was asking of me. There was a lesson to be learned here. And I am glad that I didn’t run from it.
Hallelujah.
Calling all Poets, Fiction, & Non-Fiction writers that love music — Share your prose of 1500 words or less, using the prompt, Hallelujah!
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. Oh and if you’re an email reader, just hit reply — I want to hear from you too!
Drop a few coins in the Jukebox🫙
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