The Walls of Time

Sorry about Friday. Went to MBOTMA for the weekend. This stands for Minnesota Blue Grass and Old Time Music Association. They have a four day music fest every summer featuring some of the best blue grass and old time music bands in the country. This was our tenth year and it was the 100 anniversary of the birth of Bill Monroe whom many consider to be the father of blue grass music. Four solid days of music, workshops, dancing, family activities, camping and the best of all JAMS all over the place and all day and all night.

This year there were more young bands and more young kids then I have ever seen before. Amazing that 17 and 18 year old youngsters could play, sing and perform so well. By the way, the cost for all this including camping is 70 dollars. Probably the best bargain on the planet. I might add that there is no smoking or drinking in the performing areas, no fights and nothing is ever stolen. In fact, this year there was an announcement from the stage that someone had found a wallet on one of the trails.

So in honor of Mr. Bill Monroe, I have composed the reflection for today. This is based on one of the songs that I heard this weekend that Bill wrote and played. I loved it and of course it has to do with time. It is called "The Walls of Time."
The "Walls of Time" is an interesting metaphor on time. The lyrics sing of a dead loved one and the promise to join her someday:

I hear a voice out in the darkness
It moans and whispers through the pines
I know it's my sweetheart a calling
I hear her through the walls of time.

One can picture various walls and various structures that make a wall. Regardless of what you picture, walls separate us and compartmentalize us. A Wall of Time separates us as surely as a physical wall. Walls of Time separate generations and structure the entire history of the human race. Walls between generations make it difficult to communicate with the past. We have different life experiences that lead to different assumptions and even different stereotypes of the world.

Youth see the world one way and the elderly see the world another way. Those from one generation are indelibly stamped with events and happenings which color and prejudice their view of reality. A Wall of Time separates the living from the living and the dead from the living. We are all creatures of a time that will never happen again. The choices we make and even who we become are stamped by the time in which we are born. Some might even say predetermined by our time of birth.

What does it take to pass through the Wall of Time? Can it be done? Some believe that the dead can return or even continue to walk the earth. Have you ever been to a séance? Have you ever tried to communicate to a dead loved one? Many people say they have. However, none has yet proved that they can pass through the Wall of Time to communicate with anyone dead. Do you think it is possible? Can we pass through the Wall of Time to speak to the dead or the living? Can we even transcend the cultures and habits of the time period in which we are born?