Look Down

Image not mine. Credit to original owner.

I wrote this little reflection over the summer, but thought it was especially apropos as finals draw near. And/or happen today, if you're me. Ha. So fun. We love that. *strained grin*

I have definitely mentioned this on the blog before, but earlier this year, my family got to go see the national tour of Les Miserables with a priest friend of ours. It was a wonderful, moving, and enormous experience (if those adjectives make sense together). But combined with the Hadestown kick that Eomer and I were on that week, it also made me think. And those thoughts were along the lines of a homily one of our priests gave not too long before I left the Newman Center for the summer. (Yes, he preached about Les Mis.) So, I thought I'd share a few of those thoughts with you. (Although I was inspired by the homily, the post isn't just a plagiarized version of it...it's is my thoughts. ;))

"Look down, look down, don't look 'em in the eye.
Look down, look down, you're here until you die.
I've done no wrong, sweet Jesus hear my prayer.
Look down, look down, sweet Jesus doesn't care.
Look down, look down, you'll always be a slave.
Look down, look down, you're standing in your grave."

 

"Low, keep your head, keep your head low,
Oh you gotta keep your head low."

 

These two musicals almost could not be more different. One of them is from the 2000s, the other from the 80s. One is a retelling of a myth, the other of a multiple-hundred-page-long book from France. One follows a slightly foppish musician, the other follows a noble ex-convict. One is set in France; the other a dystopian version of America. One is a huge cast piece; the other has a relatively small group of performers. 

And yet, both of them have a song that has a chant sung by a group of slaves (the convicts, in Les Mis, and the residents of Hadestown in Hadestown). 

And in both of those chants, the refrain is the need to "look down", to "keep your head low", "don't look 'em in the eye". The slaves have embraced their slavery so much that they almost don't need to be forced to be slaves anymore. They've given into despair, to looking down, to believing that "sweet Jesus doesn't care", to just trying to "keep [their] head whole", instead of striving for more. 

It's remarkable how similar the slaves in the two musicals are, something that their songs betray. 

Those in power over them have stolen their hope, they've stolen their dreams, they've stolen their ability to look ahead further than today. 

Look down. Don't look them in the eye. Don't admit that you're human, and you deserve hopes and dreams. 

It's a survival mechanism, but it's also a deeper slavery. 

In what ways do we fall into this?

Keep your head low. Do your job. Do your work. Don't make a splash. 

Look down. Don't dream, it'll never happen. 

Keep your head low. Tomorrow will be the same.

Look down. Scroll Instagram. Compare yourself to others. 

Keep your head low. Don't look into the eyes of a friend, don't see the love there.

Look down. Don't share your faith--no one wants to hear.

It's a form of slavery. And I'm not saying that everyone falls into it, but in the modern world, it feels like there's always a little voice whispering "look down. Be productive. Hurry." 

That little voice gets me all the time. I so easily fall into the trap of "look down", of "stumbling through my days with my head hung low", to quote another musical. Of crossing things off my to-do list, yet not giving time to friends and family, nor to God, nor even to myself. 

It's a survival mechanism, but it's also a deeper slavery. 

And yet, there is a solution. 

"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord, who made heaven and earth."