The Uncanny Valley

And while I blog through thoughts, observations and lessons learned regarding pastoral burnout (see last week's post), I thought I'd also take some time to blog through my most recent musical project, inversions.  This is a collection of songs I wrote during the dark time, many of them efforts to process what I was going through, others expressing hope for healing on the other side.  You can check out the whole recording on Bandcamp [click here].  

In the field of aesthetics, "the uncanny valley" describes the vague repulsion that people experience when something "unreal" is extremely close to life-like, but not quite alive.  The idea is, if you could graph people's comfort level on the y-axis, with an object's life-likeness on the x, the line would ascend until it reached the just-about-but-not-quite-life-like point, at which point it would drop off sharply into the "uncanny valley."

To me, the concept of the "uncanny valley"--being in an emotional valley because what you're experiencing is only life-like enough to cause distress--was a pretty vivid image for my burn-out experience.  It's like wandering this realm where things seem real, but the vitality and vividness is missing from it all, so it's only real enough to be vaguely disturbing.  I wrote "The Uncanny Valley" early on in my burn-out time, trying to get some handles on it all.

The Uncanny Valley

You’ve been wandering around the uncanny valley
Looking for a place to crash
Like a stolen purse in a blind back alley
Your story is out of cash
And it’s a long way up
Climbing straight to the top

There’s flooding down here in the uncanny valley
And the levee’s about to break
Like a cardboard sign in an occupy rally
The truth is hard to fake
And it’s a long way down
Better try not to drown

And if I had the choice I’d build on higher ground
Where you can see blue sky for days (and days and days)
And if I knew the way I’d bring you with me too
We’d stand there blinking blind beneath her sunny rays
But it’s a long way up
Climbing straight to the top

La la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la
Soon we’ll be standing in the the sun, singing
La la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la
Just one more ridge and we’ll be done

You’ve been hovering around the uncanny valley
Looking for a place to land
Like a Don Giovanni in his grand finale
You’re standing on sinking sand
And it’s a long way home
Fingers worn to the bone

And if I had the choice I’d build on level ground
Where there is room to spare for miles (and miles and miles)
And if I had a plan I’d build a room for you
Where you could hang your hat and rest there for a while
But it’s a long way home
Fingers worn to the bone

La la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la
Soon we’ll be standing in the the sun, singing
La la, la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la
Just one more ridge and we’ll be done