The Beethovening

There came a point in Beethoven’s life, after he had built a reputation as a great musician and composer, that God chose to fold his life back over against itself.

After writing 2 of his 9 symphonies and 17 of his 32 piano sonatas, Beethoven started to go deaf — to lose his instrument of instruments, the sense by which he had built his life’s work.

This could have been the end. But despising (i.e., scorning) his disability, he chose to keep composing.

The result was an elevation of his soul; an artistic white martyrdom.

It’s one thing to become a great x.

It’s another to become a great x, completely lose the means by which one became a great x, and then become a great x again. (or a great y.)

You might call it an unconditional triumph; one shown not to be dependent on the conditions by which the original triumph was won (such as being able to hear, in Beethoven’s case).

This seems to be something we all must conquer at some point. We all must learn to metabolize our own destruction — to “overcome death.”

So…

• Do you feel like the very roots your life grew out of have been severed?

• Do you feel subject to a profound cosmic “injustice,” one that seems tailor-made to destroy you?

Then…

• Is there a triumph in your past that God might be inviting you to make unconditional?

• Have you been given an opportunity to metabolize your own destruction?

Take it.