The tolling of the bells

29 March 2010. A normal day...or was it?

In my Culture class in late afternoon we talked about troikas and bell-ringing.

I remember being on a plane several years ago and finding myself resigned to reading the airline magazine. That particular issue featured a story on the nearly extinct art of bell-ringing, which is officially known as campanology. I remember reading about the complexities of the melodies and rhythms; about the physical strength required.

Fast-forward to our conversation in class. What associations do you have with bells? A church service, a wedding, a certain time of day...maybe even a school-bell.

Old Russian Orthodox culture (before Soviet times), as it turns out, had its own bell system. I highly recommend doing a little online research if you're interested in this sort of thing. In addition to different moments in the church calendar, the bells marked different seasons of life...much like in the rest of Europe, but with a certain Russian flair. continue/-

For example, the perebor was used when someone had died. The bells were all rung one at a time, once each, from smallest to greatest, and then rung all together at the end. This symbolized the progression of one's life from birth to death.

Of course, Russian Orthodox is often tied to superstition, and one belief held is that listening to the bells will drive out sickness (our instructor assured us of this).

As I stared out the window and drifted off into daydreams, I thought to myself, I am going to pay more attention to the bells from now on...if there are any, that is. Perhaps on Easter Sunday?

I returned home late in the evening to learn that many people in Moscow had, in fact lost their lives that day. In another age, the bells would have tolled for them...

Today I was walking to class and I listened for bells, but there were only the sounds of the city.

You write the caption

"It depends"

Sometimes I am torn between wanting to be "practical" by planning for the future and wanting to just focus on the moment, believing that "each day has enough trouble of its own." One such area is in the buying and consuming of goods. Should I plan and cook meals ahead of time? Or just take it a day at a time, trusting that God will provide the time and the means for further food preparation? Should I take advantage of a sale, or only buy what is on my list?

This also applies to time management. Should I complete just the top things on my list and go to bed when my body is telling me I'm tired, or should I stretch out that last bit of energy to get more work done?

I found it interesting to reread the story about the manna in the wilderness and to observe how God's instructions changed from day to day. continue reading/-

Principle #1: Take only enough for today

Exodus 16:18-20
...Each one gathered as much as he needed. Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning." However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.

Principle #2: Take extra in anticipation

Exodus 16:22-26
On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much—two omers  for each person—and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses. He said to them, "This is what the LORD commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.' " 

So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it. "Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today. Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."


This is a good meditation on the Sabbath, but I think it also speaks of the variety of situations in life, which require different responses. Sometimes we are to act just a little bit and then rest in His promises. Other times we are to be actively sowing, watering, and getting ahead on work, knowing that the opportunity will not always be there. Some of these decisions are logical, some are not; all may be aided by the Holy Spirit.

Fun language tools

If you will recall my "mushroom" post, I discussed the difficulties of translating idioms into another language.

There is a great little book of Russian idioms with English counterparts. Part of what makes the book great are its illustrations. In fact, it's a fun exercise to cover up the words and try to see what the idiom is supposed to convey.

Can you guess the one to the left?*

I don't currently own the book, but it turns out that there is an online version, the source of the picture (which I don't own the rights to.) You can read the entries and look at the accompanying illustrations. Each entry has the Russian idiom, an approximate English translation, and a related idiom in English.

The book is called Русские фразеологизмы в картинках (A Book of Russian Idioms Illustrated) by M. I. Dubrovin, illustrated by V. I. Tilman. It was published in 1987 in Moscow by Russky Yazyk Publishers.

Check out the book online

*Look at the text that accompanies the picture/-

СИДЕТЬ СЛОЖА РУКИ

[sid'et' slozha ruki]
To sit with one's arms folded.
To be idle; to sit still doing nothing.
Cf. To sit twiddling one's thumbs.

(from the site)