As consciousness dawned this morning, from the clock radio came these sounds of exhortation:  “It’s the Mackay-in-the-morning show at 95.9, The River… — followed by the harmonious voices, a choir singing acappella the Rolling Stones anthem You can’t always get what you want.”

I rose and thought to myself, “How perfect.”  What better battle hymn to counter the Christian Dominionism, the pro-insurrection ideology of Senator Joshua Hawley of Missouri, of Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, and other Republican lawmakers, and their gun toting acolytes?  A sublime counter point to the toxin on display this past Wednesday when thousands of Trump supporters breached the security lines at the Capital…  A DJ playing the Stones standard celebrating the rapture of just being human, of discovering that satisfaction comes by compromise,  by knowing if our desire cannot be completely fulfilled, often one can get what one needs.  That thought is an apt counter to the idea that the Lordship of Jesus Christ is to be imposed by upending the result of a fair election, by threat to the lives of congressmen and women as they serve the people.  Yes, a DJ sending out the harmonious tones of a rock n’ roll tune, the raucous voice of Mick Jagger over the airwaves;  an exultant counter attack of music!

We live in strange times. 

A few words about art this morning…  Art reminds us that we humans are the source of meaning, and of the appraisal of beauty.  There is no other source.  By exposure to bearers of meaning, principally language we learn to master sounds and grammar as children, we learned to recognize and decode meaning.  By exposure to beauty in manifold forms, principally in Nature, we learned to resonate with the form of purple cone flowers, or that of a new born puppy.  We learn to recognize when when we are “addressed.”  I say “we” because these lessons cannot be learned in solitude, they are learned with others, having a shared grammar, a socially agreed upon way of understanding.  Art reminds us that together we can build a culture, a way-of-life rooted meaning and beauty.  Who would not find such a prospect seductive, persuasive?  And yet it is easy to go wrong.  “We never fail to fail, it’s the easiest thing to do…” as penned by the lyricist of “Southern Cross.”

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A poem from a book of poems, HOMIE, by Daniez Smith.  Smith is a Black, Queer, Poz writer and performer from St. Paul Minnesota.  What does Poz stand for?  Look it up.  In Danez poems love and violence live hand in hand.

The poem speaks for itself.  I recommend the book.

saw a video of a gang of bees swarming a hornet that killed their bee-homie so i called to say i love you

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For many of us, life affords good fortune and circumstances ample to create, to make art.  Art is an act of resistance, a work of comparison and contrast that shows a spectrum of beauty, or a detail of meaning that is unique to the makers experience, a demonstration of “what is possible, a latent possibility within the natality of the world.”

This glass cylinder, a transparent container for holiday decorations, is here repurposed as a white, and silver, and golden-light — celebration of winter.  My wife deserves credit for this delightful decoration for our dining room.  She does not take enough credit.

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And what about a tune to strengthen our minds and hearts as we proceed into this day.  I know you want to hear this one.

You Can’t Always Get What You Want

I saw her today at the reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she would meet her connection
At her feet was a footloose man

No, you can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need

I saw her today at the reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she was gonna meet her connection
At her feet was a footloose man

You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, well, you might find
You get what you need

And I went down to the demonstration
To get my fair share of abuse
Singing, “We’re gonna vent our frustration
If we don’t we’re gonna blow a 50-amp fuse”

Sing it to me, honey

You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, well, you just might find
You get what you need

Oh baby, yeah

I went down to the Chelsea drugstore
To get your prescription filled
I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy
And man, did he look pretty ill

We decided that we would have a soda
My favorite flavor, cherry red
I sung my song to Mr. Jimmy
Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was “dead”

I said to him

You can’t always get what you want
Well no
You can’t always get what you want
I tell you, baby
You can’t always get what you want
No
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need

Oh, yeah, woo

You get what you need
Yeah, oh baby

I saw her today at the reception
In her glass was a bleeding man
She was practiced at the art of deception
Well I could tell by her blood-stained hands

Sing it

You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want, ooh yeah, child
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need

Ah yeah
Ah yeah, woo!

Ah, you can’t always get what you want
(No no, baby)
You can’t always get what you want
(You can’t now now)
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometime you just might find
You just might find
That you get what you need

Ah yeah!
Ah yeah! Do that

lyrics Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards,