Story Pairing

The catholic religion use to grant “indulgences” in exchange for labor, money gifts, donations in kind (lending tools, employees, or beasts for the building of cathedrals for example). An indulgence was the equivalent of a reduced sentencing in the world of sin. It would lessen the time that you had to spent in penance after death in Purgatory. As you can imagine, this particular menu item was abused pretty heavily by priests in the late Middle Ages. They would sell indulgences and would have droves of free labor, tools, and materials, to build overly extravagant cathedrals and to solidify positions of power (among other things). There is an amazing historical fiction book, “Pillars of the Earth”, that depicts some of that in a possibly exaggerated, but absolutely entertaining way. One of my favorite books.

I’m writing this from a house we are staying at just outside of Galway in Ireland. As we are driving through the countryside, it’s amazing how beautiful the old churches are. I’m not a very religious person, but I can’t help but be moved by old churches. There is almost an aura around them, a power that they gently lay over the land they occupy. I imagine that feels different to different people. For me my relationship is respectful when it comes to religion. That may already feel a bit blasphemous to the self-entitled righteous, but I will ramble if you will indulge me.

The number of religions through time is vast. While it’s hard to plant a flag in any singular hill, I think most have the potential to be beautiful placeholders for the unknown. With a common thread often being goodwill, kindness, and basically not stealing from and murdering each other, it’s a decently easy sell right out of the gate. What has always been hard for me, is how nuance and abuse get’s pulled in new directions every time you add a layer of complexity to a system. Humans are infinitely complex outside of basic needs, and every time to you add a new mind to the realm of a specific doctrine, you fracture possibility a touch further. From consumption to implementation, there are so many handholds for interpretation. The short of it is that to me, as more people stand on their specific scale, the harder it is to find a place to stand next to them. An even shorter version is that organized religion has too many dark corners for me to enjoy. Writing words like these are hard for me because I hold so many religious friends in high regard and grew up on a religious track. My hope is that they don’t read any of these thoughts and ponderings as an attack, just a man asking questions and noticing things. And as long as they aren’t selling sin credits, I think we are able to stay friends just fine ;)

A series of questions I’ve been asking lately that borderline leans towards religious implementation is, would the world be a little gentler place if we could find a way to introduce a bit more reverence in our day? It’s probably looking through rose glass, but it seems that Americans of the past were a bit more kind to each other. Was there this much division? Did people hold space for neighbors? Is that sort of thing possible again while also making and respecting space for people that aren’t reflections of a singular blueprint?

…Anyway, after that light reading, hope you are enjoying a song about satan and the garden of eden. One of the tunes going on my kids album.

Song Structure

Capo 5

Verse: Em - Am - B7 - Em

Bridge: Am - Em - Am - B7

Chorus: Em - Am - B7 - Em

Voice Memos

**No Notebook Page**

2020
A picture taken in Carlow, Ireland

Lyrics

Youre my forbidden fruit

I dare not take a bite of you

Till something sweeter comes my way

The poison on my lips

my favorite drink I can’t take a sip

Till all that’s wickeds’ washed away

Your dirty, this I know,

but there might be something left to grow

The garden’s wild this time of year

Wrapped tight around that tree

barren for the irony

Whispers enough to draw me near

Oh Ohhhh, You’re a sinner

Oh Ohhhh, and I’m one too

I need a taste, of my forbidden fruit

You turn the lights down low

harder for me to find a no

And sneak in closer by my side

Fire in your eyes

Try in vain you can’t disguise

It’s your nature justified