Experiencing a crowd enthusiastically responding can move you to the core. As I listened to the radio broadcast of my favorite baseball team playing their arch rivals, fighting for the last out in the 9th inning, the roar of the crowd took me to a place where great experiences rest.
In this moment so many great experiences exploded together! Catching a Willie May’s fly ball in the cheap seats as an eight-year-old boy was hero worship personified! Watching Joe Montana and Dwight Clark in the playoffs against the Cowboys was a dream come true. Experiencing Joe Satriani nail it on stage for almost four hours was extraordinary. These along with Elton John, Harry Chapin, Roberta Flack, Frank Sinatra…the list goes on. Each brings a sense of how we can be touched, especially when we are joined by others raising their voices in celebration.
Even as I reflect as the cheering subsides, I find myself drifting through memories from a pub in Putney, a church nearby, and on through to worship experiences in the Redwoods. In each, I experienced a Divine Presence which consumed my heart and mind, lifted higher than I ever imagined by the responses of those around me.
Life reminds me of the lessons I experienced in the moment.
Life is always richer, fuller, and greater when it is shared with others. Relationships are the heart of being alive and living.
As intense as I can be, things are even more intense when we experience the gifts in awe as a community. Spiritual communities call it church, footballers call it supporters, and others simply experience it without a name.
From the highs of one’s favorite team’s success, to the quiet stillness found in concerts as music drifts towards silence, one cannot help but respond. The psalmist said it well, “I lift you high in praise, my God, O my King! and I’ll bless your name into eternity.” (Psalm 145.1).
My goal is to remember, deeply and fully remember. In doing so, courage is restored. I find myself resolved, committed, and stepping forward with purpose.
