Blog 720 – 08.12.2017
Are You Fighting Vainly The Ole Ennui?

I derive a lot of my deep philosophical and theological ideas from the lyrics of Sinatra songs. Today’s title comes from a favorite of mine called “I Get A Kick Outta You.” In the beginning of the song in a more spoken than sung intro Frank sings, “When I’m out on a quiet spree, fighting vainly the ole ennui.” For those of you unfamiliar with the French word “ennui” (pronounced on-we) it means boredom or that empty ache for something more. In this piece I am continuing my thoughts from yesterday about the need to think new brighter better thoughts to create a better brighter world around us.

The picture the expert vocal painter, Sinatra, paints in the beginning of his song and throughout is of all the things people try to overcome that boredom, that empty ache, in their souls and to distract themselves if even temporarily. He sings about getting no kick from champaign and mere alcohol not thrilling him at all, about getting no kick in a plane flying too high with some gal in the sky. He even mentions that some get a kick from cocaine but says that if he took even one sniff it would bore him terrif-icly too. But he goes on to say, “I get a kick outta you.”

I know this might upset some of you romantics out there (I am a life-long one too) but I believe the real kick we need does not come from some other pretty girl or handsome guy but the you that is, to me, what the song is really all about – getting that kick outta YOU. And that until we learn to get a kick from within ourself that we will forever be looking for something or someone to flip that switch for us. The switch is deep inside of us. It cannot be turned on correctly by one more beer, one more smoke, or one more pill or one more sexual romantic affair. I have used the following several times but I heard a preacher who smoked as a boy and young man talking about how Winton cigarettes used to advertise “Winston Satisfies.” He said if that were true they would not have to put twenty in a pack.

Jesus talked to a women at a well, tired of having to draw water from the well, and well with an ennui regarding her whole life and the many men she had known including the current one she was living with. He told her that if she asked him that he could give her living water that would become a well inside her springing up to ever lasting satisfaction and life. Many of the interpretations of that encounter are used to build churches and fill their coffers but often mask what I have come to believe is the water that Jesus was actually talking about. Okay, spit it out, Dave. The water that truly satisfies and becomes in us a well, is simply the knowledge of Who and Whose we truly are, that we are complete, whole, and already bigger and fuller that we ever dreamed possible. All we need or could ever want is waiting inside us to burst forth and make our outside world a lovelier finer place for us and everyone else. Dave you really do need to cut back on the caffeine and calm down. Maybe later when I’m taking a dirt nap.

Seriously they say that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity but sometimes, in fact often, we need to have a talk with ourselves in order to have an intelligent conversation. What do you think? Isn’t that really the question or the problem. As Elvis Costello sings in his song Alison about how upset he gets at her when he hears the silly things she says. Our words come from our thoughts. And many of our problems stem from silly stupid self talk like “I can’t” or “I’m no good” when I have it on the highest authority that YOU CAN do all things and that with all of God’s creation YOU ARE GOOD. Who are you gonna believe that lying little ego, the author of ennui, or the truth that you have inside of you that knows and does all things well? Sing another song with me and Frank, “I’ve got the world on a string sitting on a rainbow…what a life, what a world, I’m in love.” If you know Who you are, you know that you are and have always been IN LOVE.

Your friend and fellow traveler,
David White