Guest Post from Arthur Yavelberg - Mountaintops, Wine, and Ice Cream

 

(The divine works in mysterious ways. I was looking at the mountains this morning. I don't know exactly what I was looking for, but I thought that was the place to look. And then this came up in my memories. It was the first piece I had published in a newspaper following the book [A Theology for the Rest of Us]. Besides the comforting thought, I had the distinct impression the divine was stifling a laugh.)

When young children are hurt or sad, they want a kiss to make it better. Or a hug. Yes, hugs can work well, too. And ice cream. Ice cream is the best.

As adults, however, we know that whatever the injury or problem, kissing it is not going to make anything better. It is ironic that there is so much pop psychology advice that, especially in times of crisis, we need to connect with our inner child. Idyllic notions of childhood aside, the truth is that childhood is often about feeling powerless and ever so small. There is a reason why children are so taken with dinosaurs. Dinosaurs are huge and incredibly strong and can express rage with roars that a child’s vocal cords cannot match.

No, as adults we are expected to be mature. We do face crises, challenges that often seem more interminable than death and taxes, but we understand that we need to confront these difficulties with resolute rationality. No kiss or hug or ice cream or even wine will provide the solutions we seek.

They only help us procrastinate until the difficulties become far worse and overwhelming. But even the most stoic among us knows times of despair; when it all seems like too much. Whether there are global matters of wars or pandemics or ecological devastation or personal plights of disease or loneliness or financial insecurity or whatever, there are times when we feel like it’s just too, too much that we just can’t cope anymore.

What can we do during those times? New-agers talk of meditation to clear our heads. Analysts pull out their calculators and crunch numbers. Big pharma refers us to a host of medications to induce tranquility. Prayer is the recourse of choice for the pious. And then there are specialists — so many who know so much about less and less that soon we will have experts who know absolutely everything about absolutely nothing (Nicholas Butler). That is not to say none of these approaches has value. Some will resonate with some and others will resonate with others.

Living here in Arizona, I’d like to propose a different sort of perspective: look to the mountains; even better, hike in the mountains, surrounded by their solitude. (No, the driveway at Sabino Canyon won’t quite do. Too many people gabbing about.) There is something about the mountains — so imposing, massive, immobile, but not paralyzed. Yes, the sun is higher in the sky and provides the energy for all life. Lightning and thunder are more violent. But the stolid mountains do not seem to care. They have seen it all and will see it all again and accept it all without complaining it all should be different.

It is no accident that the Jewish people received the Torah at Mt. Sinai. So, too, the most famous of Jesus’ teachings were given at the Sermon on the Mount. And Islam? Allah created the mountains of the Earth to stabilize a world too prone to the forces of chaos. For that matter, Martin Luther King had been to the mountaintop where he could dream of a time of racial harmony.

It seems that mountains provide a different perspective; above it all, of course, but also completely grounded in the Earth. Jesus taught that it is best to be in the world, but not of the world. What better example can there be than the very mountains that are so much of what Arizona is all about.

If we are looking for hope during troubled times, we can hear God in His still, small voice if we can learn from the mountains that are already all around us.

And, yes, a little wine, too, won’t hurt… especially with ice cream.

A Theology for the Rest of Us has earned the following awards:

Best Indie Book Award

Literary Titan Silver Aware

American BookFest Best Books Award finalist

For more posts about Arthur and his book, click HERE.

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