Hymns Old and New -- Anthem

I've been a huge Leonard Cohen fan since I was a teenager in the early 1970s, so I was very sad to learn of his death last month at 82 years old. Apart from being an amazing Canadian poet-singer-songwriter, his spiritual search and questioning always drew me to his music. He had no illusions about the nature of love, spirituality or the world, yet dedicated his passion and heartbreak to all three.

I consider his song Anthem to be a modern hymn in every sense of the word. It is his profound meditation on the Divine and the human spiritual journey.

The birds, they sing

At the break of day

Start again, I heard them say

Don't dwell on what has passed away

Or what is yet to be.

Yeah, the wars

They will be fought again

The holy dove

She will be caught again

Bought and sold and bought again

The dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in.

We asked for signs

The signs were sent:

The birth betrayed

The marriage spent

Yeah, the widowhood of every government

Signs for all to see.

I can't run no more

With that lawless crowd

While the killers in high places say their prayers out loud

But they've summoned, they've summoned up a thundercloud

They're gonna hear from me.

Ring the bells that still can ring ...

You can add up the parts

You won't have the sum

You can strike up the march

There is no drum

Every heart, every heart

To love will come

But like a refugee.

Ring the bells that still can ring ...

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in

That's how the light gets in

That's how the light gets in.

I love every aspect of these lyrics but two images in particular resonate deep within me. First, the very Jungian concept that it is through our imperfections and repressed selves (our shadows) that wholeness and healing (formerly known as salvation and redemption) are achieved. There is a crack, a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in. Human perfectability is a harmful lie and there's no point in expecting this or holding anyone to that unrealistic standard. Everyone and everything is flawed by its very nature.

And the second image strikes me to the core as well -- every heart, every heart to love will come, but like a refugee. I think the word "love" as used here is code for "the Divine." This image expresses a great and profound truth about the spiritual journey. People sometimes naively think the spiritual journey is all about hearts, flowers and blissful insights but in reality, it's an arduous, devastating and often perilous experience. By the time you arrive at the end of your search, you are indeed like a refugee -- battered, bruised, a survivor of the immense pain and suffering of life but also so very grateful to be safe at last, at long last, in a new home. The spiritual journey is not for the faint of heart.

Thank you, Leonard Cohen. May you rest in peace, your long journey done.