Article March 24, 1997 Issue

"Mellon Collie" or the infinite gladness

Glory Holzworth

The front read, "The world is a vampire." My teenage daughter was displaying her new T-shirt from a recent concert. The back said, "The Smashing Pumpkins Infinite Sadness Tour." The group had sung songs from their CD called "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness." Some of the songs referred to the talented lead singer's disappointing childhood. Sadly, it seems his world had been a vampire, preying on his hope and joy.

One also finds melancholy messages in other rock songs. A line from a Smashing Pumpkins song even equates godliness with emptiness. Yet, many people have discovered God to be a source of comfort. They've found reassurance in understanding God to be ever-present divine Love, who, according to the Bible, "crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies" (Ps. 103:4). And through this understanding, sadness has given place to gladness. In fact, the Bible says that in God's presence is "fulness of joy"! (Ps. 16:11)

How can we be more aware of God's loving presence in our lives? One way is through gratitude. We start to dig ourselves out of depression by thanking God for examples of good, no matter how small. More than the temporary distraction of feeling glad about various possessions, real gratitude comes from focusing on the spiritual gifts in our lives—joy, beauty, intelligence—gifts that come from God. The truth is that God, Spirit, has created man in His own likeness, so we each actually include these gifts as our identity. As we accept this truth, we'll begin to see other good qualities that we are already expressing.

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