by Gary Powell
There is evidence in Aristotle’s writing that he didn’t have much use for “habit”. Finding the best use for our individual nature hardly has any place for habit. We are habituated and institutionalized across almost every thought and behaviour. Aristotle insists our highest good, our virtuous activity, is not something that comes to us by chance. The “pattern of the possible is preferred above the rule” is a lyric in this show which echoes Aristotle’s precept about the personal responsibility of creating our own lives and living well.
This song, “A Boy Has Been Born”, was written one year before my epiphanal conversation with Ralph Person about Aristotelian philosophy and its direct effect on our lives. The charge to myself was to create a lyric that would elucidate the birth of the Christ from a personal and very interpretive perspective without regard to the burden of understanding. This is the song of an individual, who on the eve of disintegration from the long battle, experiences grace which had been long forgotten. This is no song of mysticism. It’s the plain and simple truth from experience which holds both the gift and the burden from having lived an examined life.
by Gary Powell<\/p>\n
![A](\"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/wp-photos\/boy_has_been_born.gif\")
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There is evidence in Aristotle’s writing that he didn’t have much use for “habit”. Finding the best use for our individual nature hardly has any place for habit. We are habituated and institutionalized across almost every thought and behaviour. Aristotle insists our highest good, our virtuous activity, is not something that comes to us by chance. The “pattern of the possible is preferred above the rule”<\/i><\/a> is a lyric in this show which echoes Aristotle’s precept about the personal responsibility of creating our own lives and living well. <\/p>\n This song, “A Boy Has Been Born”<\/i>, was written one year before my epiphanal conversation<\/a> with Ralph Person about Aristotelian philosophy and its direct effect on our lives. The charge to myself was to create a lyric that would elucidate the birth of the Christ from a personal and very interpretive perspective without regard to the burden of understanding. This is the song of an individual, who on the eve of disintegration from the long battle, experiences grace which had been long forgotten. This is no song of mysticism. It’s the plain and simple truth from experience which holds both the gift and the burden from having lived an examined life. <\/p>\n Verse 1<\/u> Something surely is different Verse 2<\/u> So, from where does this come? What\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s birthing inside me? Chorus 1<\/u> I believed in his absence Each moment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been filled Verse 3<\/u> And whether or not Verse 4<\/u> So, from where does this come? Chorus 2<\/u> I believed in his absence Each moment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been filled Verse 5<\/u> Of all that each see through Verse 6<\/u> So now at the juncture Chorus 3<\/u> I believed in his absence Each moment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been filled (Copyright 2005 Jesmax Music, BMI)<\/i><\/center><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1179,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54\/revisions\/1179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.garypowell.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
by Austin artist, Nadyne Wood.<\/i><\/center><\/p>\n
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License<\/a><\/center><\/p>\nA Boy Has Been Born<\/h3>\n
\nWhat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to come from this day?
\nThe first day in a while
\nI feel within there is hope
\nAnd within, without guile<\/p>\n
\nSomeone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lifting the yoke
\nSomehow I will be changed
\nSomeplace I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll lose my cloak<\/p>\n
\nI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been lost in the scurry
\nI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been launched with no fuel
\nI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been loved in a hurry
\nAnd I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve bled from the duel<\/p>\n
\nFalse respite, no doubt
\nWhat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s birthing inside me? Breathe in
\nWhat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s birthing inside me? Breathe out<\/p>\n
\nBreathe in and breathe out<\/p>\n
\nA boy has been born
\nI can feel him again
\nA boy has been born
\nWhere has he been?<\/p>\n
\nThat from what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been through
\nThat each dawn I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll awaken
\nPresence further askew<\/p>\n
\nWith a new loss to mourn
\nBut life has just spoken
\nAn offer, a token
\nA boy has been born<\/p>\n
\nI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve given up ground
\nI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve given in to untruth
\nMy courage has flagged
\nWeakened sorely from youth<\/p>\n
\nThe path chosen was right
\nThe rightness was priced
\nBy confusion contrite<\/p>\n
\nTo the East and West
\nMy heart\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been around
\nI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve worn my best efforts
\nRight down to the ground<\/p>\n
\nFalse respite, no doubt
\nWhat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s birthing inside me?
\nBreathe in and breathe out<\/p>\n
\nA boy has been born
\nI can feel him again
\nA boy has been born
\nWhere has he been?<\/p>\n
\nThat from what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been through
\nThat each dawn I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll awaken
\nPresence further askew<\/p>\n
\nWith a new loss to mourn
\nBut life has just spoken
\nAn offer, a token
\nA boy has been born<\/p>\n
\nHelp was easily gifted
\nWhen I never did ask
\nBut gifts are elusive
\nWhen blocked by the mask<\/p>\n
\nLending peace, making war
\nAnd all of us long for
\nA soulful rapport<\/p>\n
\nWhat folly to think
\nThat we must believe
\nIn something that gifted
\nWhen freely received<\/p>\n
\nA respite, a breath
\nA place to renew
\nA respite from death<\/p>\n
\nA boy has been born
\nI can feel him again
\nA boy has been born
\nWhere has he been?<\/p>\n
\nThat from what I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been through
\nThat each dawn I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll awaken
\nPresence further askew<\/p>\n
\nWith a new loss to mourn
\nBut life has just spoken
\nAn offer, a token
\nA boy has been born<\/p>\n