Born To Run

Monday, 28. September 2009 by Dan Ryan

When Neil Armstrong took that first step on the moon, I was…

Not alive yet. 

We always remember where we were when history interrupts our lives, don’t we? We remember what we were doing. And more to today’s point, we remember who we were with at the time.

Now last week, nobody landed on the moon, but I did get to witness history (at least in my book), nonetheless. On a drizzly Sunday evening in the great city of Chicago, 7 of my friends and I converged on the United Center for the Bruce Springsteen concert that night. And while this would mark my 10th Springsteen show, this concert was guaranteed to be markedly different from any of the previous nine.

For starters, more often than not, I attend these shows by myself. But for some reason (unknown to me at the time), I got caught up in the fever of the moment and bought 8 tickets as soon as they went on sale in July. As concert night approached, I became very aware of this heightened anticipation building within me.

To have 7 friends in the house with me, this was going to be different in a way which words can’t seem to do justice. And sitting in the UC before the show, it definitely was. I could feel the simple power of shared experience. I liked it. That time served as yet another reminder that the most beautiful things in this world can rarely be explained. So to Ann, Austin, Ben, Ken, Luke, Ron, and Ty, thanks for a great memory.

Also, for the first time in history, Bruce and his band were going to play the entire “Born to Run” album—probably their most famous, defining contribution to rock ‘n’ roll—from beginning to end. With the whole arena shrouded in darkness, Bruce walked underneath the burn of a solitary spotlight, harmonica in hand. He began to introduce the legendary album which saved the band’s careers from an early death.

The currents of freedom, adventure, the romanticism of the open road flow strongly throughout Born to Run, both song and album. As the UC’s house lights sprang to life and 24,000 people followed suit, my mind drifted back to what Bruce once said about the evolution of Born to Run, an anthem he penned when he was 24:

“I guess when I wrote this song, I was writing about a guy and a girl who wanted to run and keep on running. And that was a nice, romantic idea. But I realized that after I put all those people in all those cars, I was going to have to figure out some place for them to go.

And I realized that in the end, I guess that individual freedom—when it’s not connected to some sort of community or friends or the world outside—it ends up feeling pretty meaningless. So this is a song about 2 people trying to find their way home.”

For you and me, there are profound truths to be mined from these words. In His brilliance, God wired us to be communal, relational creatures to the core. In our most self-aware moments, we notice how we usually come alive in interdependent situations and treasure one of His greatest gifts—good company for this journey.

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” —Proverbs 17:17

Fellowship. Togetherness. The need to be a part of something bigger than me. Friends, this is powerful stuff; these emotions are fundamental to our core.

“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  —Proverbs 18:24

So this week, may we reconnect with the simple power of having an inner circle of friends, brothers and sisters. May we meaningfully pause to throw some gratitude the way of our God, Creator of that inner circle, giver of that inner circle.

And member of that inner circle.