Kairos and Selah.
For 2 years now, these words have been significant to me. They have been words that I have doodled on notes, in my quotebook, or just used as a mantra while meditating, running, practicing yoga, or simply praying out of desperation.
Kairos, coincidentally, is Greek. My friend Kate actually told me about it and I researched it more. Kairos and chronos are two words used for 'time'. Chronos is used more in the chronological or quantitative sense. Kairos is used to note a "supreme moment" or an opportune time. An indeterminate time in which something special happens. In some biblical translations used in Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic practices, the Deacon proclaims to the Priest before the Devine Liturgy, "Kairos tou poiesai to Kyrio" ("It is time [kairos] for the Lord to act"). In Aristotle's scheme of rhetoric, he considers it be be the time and space context in which proof will be determined. To me, all of these definitions put the emotions neatly into a sentence for Webster. The emotion of it is that feeling you have when something you have been praying for falls into place, or maybe that stress has been lifted, or your plan didn't work out but ultimately the problem was completely resolved (just not the way you would do it, which was probably the hard way anyway but your superego would never let you admit that of course).
As a person who lives for spontaneity, I love this. I love those moments. I love the little things (in case you didn't know from reading this blog. Or just glancing at the title.). I celebrate them! Annnnnd at the same time, like anyone else I can get anxious about the future and get wrapped up in worrying about the time these moments will occur. Because according to my plan, now would be a perfect time. Or.....now is the most inconvenient time.
Selah is the perfect balance between my enthusiasm and my anticipation. Selah is Hebrew and it means a variety of things depending on how it is used. In the Psalms, it is included in the songs written "To the choir master." It is a musical annotation, like a coda means to go back to the beginning, 'selah' signifies the direction to stop and listen or to pause. Sometimes it is used as a praise, like "amen" at the end of a prayer or to acknowledge some revelation one agrees with.
So, for me, in those moments of jubilee that kairos has occurred, I am reminded to selah. When I rejoice at some little thing, I want to pause and share it and keep it in my memory. Or maybe I just simply want to thank God, or the universe, or the cosmos, or whatever it is that you relate to. In the anxious anticipation of kairos, I especially need to be reminded of selah! Right now, I do not need to worry. I do not need to be anxious. Right now, I just need to be in the moment. I need to be in kairos. Or else I will miss it. And it could be given to someone else who is attentive to the present to appreciate it. After all, smile lines are much more of a blessing to have when I'm 60 than frown wrinkles :)
For 2 years now, these words have been significant to me. They have been words that I have doodled on notes, in my quotebook, or just used as a mantra while meditating, running, practicing yoga, or simply praying out of desperation.
Kairos, coincidentally, is Greek. My friend Kate actually told me about it and I researched it more. Kairos and chronos are two words used for 'time'. Chronos is used more in the chronological or quantitative sense. Kairos is used to note a "supreme moment" or an opportune time. An indeterminate time in which something special happens. In some biblical translations used in Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic practices, the Deacon proclaims to the Priest before the Devine Liturgy, "Kairos tou poiesai to Kyrio" ("It is time [kairos] for the Lord to act"). In Aristotle's scheme of rhetoric, he considers it be be the time and space context in which proof will be determined. To me, all of these definitions put the emotions neatly into a sentence for Webster. The emotion of it is that feeling you have when something you have been praying for falls into place, or maybe that stress has been lifted, or your plan didn't work out but ultimately the problem was completely resolved (just not the way you would do it, which was probably the hard way anyway but your superego would never let you admit that of course).
As a person who lives for spontaneity, I love this. I love those moments. I love the little things (in case you didn't know from reading this blog. Or just glancing at the title.). I celebrate them! Annnnnd at the same time, like anyone else I can get anxious about the future and get wrapped up in worrying about the time these moments will occur. Because according to my plan, now would be a perfect time. Or.....now is the most inconvenient time.
Selah is the perfect balance between my enthusiasm and my anticipation. Selah is Hebrew and it means a variety of things depending on how it is used. In the Psalms, it is included in the songs written "To the choir master." It is a musical annotation, like a coda means to go back to the beginning, 'selah' signifies the direction to stop and listen or to pause. Sometimes it is used as a praise, like "amen" at the end of a prayer or to acknowledge some revelation one agrees with.
So, for me, in those moments of jubilee that kairos has occurred, I am reminded to selah. When I rejoice at some little thing, I want to pause and share it and keep it in my memory. Or maybe I just simply want to thank God, or the universe, or the cosmos, or whatever it is that you relate to. In the anxious anticipation of kairos, I especially need to be reminded of selah! Right now, I do not need to worry. I do not need to be anxious. Right now, I just need to be in the moment. I need to be in kairos. Or else I will miss it. And it could be given to someone else who is attentive to the present to appreciate it. After all, smile lines are much more of a blessing to have when I'm 60 than frown wrinkles :)
"I have come to an understanding about my “thorn in the flesh,” as Paul called it. And selah is it’s antithesis, it’s antidote."
 |
| Francesco Salviati, an Italian Mannerist painter, depicted kairos in his 16th century fresco. |
No comments:
Post a Comment