Reverend Marvin Chandler
I just finished a book, Type R: Transformative Resilience for Thriving in a Turbulent World. It was one of many books addressing the realities of what seems like in an increasingly chaotic world. The name of the chaos changes depending on the context, but in healthcare it is usually described as “burnout”. Is it the pace of change? Is it “moral injury”? What ever it is called, we all have seen and lived it.
One week later, I heard another voice, Mary Ann McBidden Dana, the author of God, Improv, and the Art of Living. There is a similarity to Type R in looking for answers but the approach and the basis of the response is different. It is “improvisation”! How could that be in world of plans and schedules?
I recalled a wonder filled moment in 2006, when I met Rev. Marvin Chandler in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was on a Sunday evening at 6 pm when I visited Second Presbyterian Church. It was The Jack Gilfoy Trio with Rev. Marvin Chandler playing effortlessly at the piano. It was awesome. I really didn’t know his story, but found it in a recent PBS documentary that revealed a life of improvisation Other people had been moved by his life story. Check out the documentary, “Reverend Marvin Chandler: Open to the Moment”.
What is central is a search for meaning and purpose in our lives. The answers are as complex as our lives. There are “BIG” ideas and real lived experiences as we all look to “connect the dots” and create some beautiful music in the moments of our lives. We need to connect our lives to these larger ideas and the lives around us. Those responses are more improv than planned.
Marvin
References:
Marston, A., & Marston, S. (2018). Type R: Transformative Resilience for Thriving in a Turbulent World. PublicAffairs.
Dana, M. M. (2018). God, Improv, and the Art of Living, Eerdmans.
Reverend Marvin Chandler: Open to the Moment
Hage, M. L. (2013). Resistance/Resilience.
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