“PARADISE OF RUMORS”
While I have not joined anything “officially” and have not bought or collected any merch, I am a BTS army. I have spent hours following and watching the BTS World Tour Arirang. I even dragged my wife to swing by the Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul the day before the comeback concert to soak in the vibe. I find it refreshing and impressive that BTS would choose Tampa and El Paso as the first two cities in the US. While not trying to read too much into it, I am aware that any kind of significant movement starts from the peripheries or the margins, representing humble beginnings, as is the case with BTS.
I am a bigger fan of AKMU, a Korean sibling duo with Lee Chan-hyuk and Lee Su-hyun. After seven years of hiatus and personal trials, their latest album captures our imagination to be human and how to relate with others. Enchanting, playful, counter-cultural, and prophetic are some of the adjectives I would use to describe the album. I have spent all of my flying hours listening to the album, to and from the Philippines, for the closing residency.
A few of the album's recurring themes revolve around discovering “paradise” by leaving the fast, competitive city life and embracing the slow, cooperative “paradise” life. In this paradise, we can accept all of who we are, not just the presentable parts of who we are. The vision of “paradise” is one of wholism, accepting all of our “cloudy days, sunny days, aching days.” In this sense, wholism is not perfection, but acceptance of all our imperfections and “negative” emotions—“that sorrow follows after joy is a beautiful heart.” Beauty and sorrow do belong together in the same sentence.
The other recurring theme is the assertion that we are all wanderers, refugees, and travelers, out of which comes a natural affinity and solidarity with all others. The leveling reality is that we are all weary, limping, and needy travelers. The uplifting vision is that we all belong, without exception. I can embrace and help spread this vision because that is how God comes to us and invites us to come to God.
These themes resonate deeply with me as I continue to embrace a slow, contemplative life away from the city (both literally and figuratively), in nature, with and for others. The vision of wholism compels me toward greater courage and freedom to pursue my true self in safe communities. And of course, the imagery of “pilgrim” on the road, having left home but also walking toward home, has captured my imagination in recent years.
It is not lost on me that AKMU left their talent agency recently to strike out on their own, spread out their wings, and unleash their fullest creative potential.
As artists, we all create; we have to, for our very existence. Life is the only fertile ground we get to till and steward. Discovering our existence is not entirely a solitary endeavor; it is always in conjunction with how we find meaning for our existence in relationship with others and the world. What we create and do, then, is always in the context of the world around us. Better yet, our simple prayer in life is to touch as many people as possible with our interpreted creative meaning. This approach to life is simple yet grand because it is our wholistic life at stake. What I want to create for the sake of the world has shifted, or should I say, broadened, to “share” contemplation, as I highlighted last week.
As artists, we are all visionaries, dreaming of changing and touching the world in the only way we can. The world encompasses seemingly unlimited opportunities for heaven to touch down. The vision of making this side of heaven a better place is not some abstract concept, but something that can be actualized by each of us cultivating the visionaries and creators in us. The journey to heaven is heaven itself, which concerns our foundational prayer, “May Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.”