Words.
Arranged in few and sparse, they are all but for the worse. Smushed and squished like sardines in a can, these words overwhelm, confuse any woman. Hence—the length of a song suits me—a commentary, my cuppa tea!
On that quippy note, I illustrate here on our imaginary chalkboard the word “Gustie” in all its splendor. What connotations mingle with that word?
Smiles, hard workers, athletes, cell phones and iPods, musicians, etc. Basically, the good and positive, affirming and relatively fitting images of our college’s recruitment material, which we gravitated toward not long ago.
What is missing from this collage of college thought? All the things that the word “Gustavian” has caught.
For about a month now, I thought I’d invented that word … ‘till I recently realized that I’ve been writing for The Gustavian Weekly for about a year now … Ohh human hubris!
A “Gustavian” quality embodies any and all individuals who seek individuality—folks who seek lives of creative survival and expression in its many forms. (*I hope to be all inclusive in this comment—the idea that such an individual’s life “counts” more than any other life on earth is precisely contrary to what I say here. I am simply differentiating between the terms of endearment of those of us atop the hill of Gustavus Adolphus College. The conversation about certain lives counting more than others is separate, and of a different tone than my thoughts here.)
The term “Gustavian” allocates a certain individuality and uniqueness that the homey term “Gustie,” contradicts. When called a “Gustie”, or my least favorite, “Good Gustie,” the recipient is immediately boxed into someone’s idea of what a “Good Gustie” should be like. That introduces a catchy but sour theme of people pleasing, also for another day, another time.
A “Gustavian” quality includes what a dear friend of mine and I refer to as pursuing a “creative task,” or one could say, a “craft.” A creative task needs only an artist’s touch to bring it to life. This touch, however, must be confident. Perhaps pianissimo at times, it is ever an act of integrity and strength in oneself.
You ask, when is the right moment to let that creative energy move? Good question. A professor once encouraged a class of us to “Be a nuisance, but a nice one.” With that mischievous and wise twinkle in his eye, not one of us could or wanted to ignore his call to action. Very much like Mary Oliver’s words to live a wild and precious life, these seven words reminded me of the super-cala-fragalistic-expealidocious life I get to CRAFT each day!
A different color, scent, flavor, or nuance (you pick the metaphor) each day, the day task is to do something new. What a difference a day makes! as the singers sing it. What challenges lie before me? How will I craftily overcome them?!
In 1 Corinthians 9:19, Paul blatantly defines himself as flexible and empathetic to each of the different communities he witnesses. As Professor Elledge calls him, he is a “chameleon of cultures” in a way. The apostle manages to maintain trust and cultivate faith in several communities based on this identity of several nuances. On the one hand, he is a clump of contradiction, on the other, a remarkably compassionate and insightful human being. I hope to mirror Paul in his efforts to love openly, to tell the truth in love and to live creatively with the colors we are given to paint with.
I’m all for the uplifting connotations of “Gustie,” but I appreciate the breadth and grace space of the word “Gustavian.” Who will you be as a “Gustavian?” That is a legacy waiting to be crafted.