A Grief Observed

"I thought I could describe a state; make a map of sorrow. Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process."

This is in the very begining of the last chapter of the book. C.S Lewis is reflecting on his previous writings, thoughts and feelings. He has such a unique mind and I believe only C.S Lewis himself could critique is thoughts so well. This sets the mood for the entire chapter. A chapter of reflection, honesty, and an overwhelming feeling of joy and peace. This chapter brings a solid conclusion to the book, and C.S Lewis' journey of grief. He leaves the reader feeling completed knowing God is in control. And he goes back to sort out the mess he made of the readers mind. (All the theological questions, all the doubts, all the fears and uncertainty.)

"The notes have been about myself, and about H., and about God. In that order. The order and the proportions exactly what they ought not to have been."

For a man of Lewis' stature to admit he was off base is revolutionary. His wisdom and humility is overwhelming. This is one of my favorite quotes from the book. I'm not sure why. I guess it's just great to read this after three chapters of alot of hopelessness.

"Thus up from the garden to the Gardener, from the sword to the Smith. To the life-giving Life and the Beauty that makes beautiful."

Much like the quote above this takes the attention of C.S Lewis, H. and the awkwardness and puts the focus back on God. The quote just makes me smile. This is was a great read.

His mind and clarity of thought makes me wish I knew myself better. C.S Lewis is one smart cookie and A Grief Observed is one great read.

C.S Lewis

C.S Lewis

C.S Lewis has been one of my favorite authors since I began reading. His writing encountered me at a crucial time in my life and God used them in a big way. My first encounter with C.S Lewis was with the Chronicles of Narnia. I got my first detention in 6^th grade and my dad handed me the 5 pound book and told me not to come out of my room until I read it all. After many hours of whining and a few minutes of reading I managed to find myself outside of those off-white walls. The talented author came back into my life a few years later. It was my senior year of high school and I was just finding who I was in the Lord when I began reading. When my father became a Christian he ordered a huge box of old books offline from a theology student long ago. The books contained nearly all of C.S Lewis writings. I started with Mere Christianity and was dumbfounded by every chapter. God spoke to me through his writing and taught me so much about thinking logically about the faith. I believe he was an author of infinite wisdom and I admire his passion for the Lord. I pick up Mere Christianity often and I am always lending it to friends trusting his writing will help them as much as it did me. His honesty, philosophy, testimony and thoughts forced me to admire his writing. I was influenced by ‘The Weight of Glory’ and a daily devotional with excerpts from all his writings. I have not read ‘A Grief Observed’ but I am anxious to get started. I am a bit familiar with the story behind the book and I am fascinated by circumstances surrounding his marriage.

Love and Death

Love and Death

At first I wasn’t sure about the style of the class or how much I would like it. It’s really growing on me. I love the different approach to learning and the connection I feel with the people in my group. Every day I know I am going to get the chance to hear how different people digested the reading from the night before and how right or wrong I am about the meaning of it. For me, the meaning of the class so far has been about the connecting and conversation with classmates about literature- mainly literature pertaining to love and death. It was during the last class that I realized exactly what Mr. Corrigan said in the first class “The two main topics of literature are love and death.” We have read some weird, intriguing, and bizarre stories about some interesting and odd characters but we have so much to learn from them all. All these authors (songwriters) have learned what we as Christians grow up being taught and spend most of our lives trying to figure out. The writer of Ecclesiastes tells of how everything our sinful nature desires is worthless because we all die. There are numerous cliché sayings I could insert here, but I’ll resist the urge. Our lives, when lived right, are focused on nothing but love. Love is one of the few things here on earth we can do that is eternal. We are all living for love whether we know it or not. Christians live to love God and people, while some live for love of drugs and money, some for sex and reading. No matter how we live of lives, or what we accomplish we all have the same fate. We’ll all end up dead and buried no matter what or who we love. But this life is temporary. The good news is we’re all eternal and that thought should change everything.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love

Raymond Carver’s What We Talk About When We Talk About Love is a thought provoking short story attempting to answer or ask “What is love?” The entire story takes place around the kitchen table. The four main characters, or two couples, in the story are Mel and Terri and Nick and Laura. The story never gives us much detail about the characters but Carver gave the readers enough insight to understand where they are coming from. The characters in the story all come from different pasts and all have much different beliefs in love. Carver gives insights such as Mel went to seminary and that’s why he believed “spiritual love” is the only real love. Mel is the narrator of the story and much of the text is his opinion. He is a smart man who works as a cardiologist. He believed no one could really know what love is. He used marriage, divorce and death as examples. Carver represents several odd views in an attempt to define love. Mel’s wife Terri believed her ex loved her through physical abuse. While Nick and Laura are still in the honeymoon stage of their relationship their love is questioned by Mel since they have never gone through any hard times together. All the different views on the definition of love leave the reader feeling awkward and unsettled at the end of the story. The author ends with a silence that leaves the reader craving an answer. Carvers views and questions about love are expressed through this story. He uses the characters in unique ways to represent different beliefs in love.

Reading stories like these make me so glad I am a Christian. Without the Lord, life and love makes no sense at all. I believe love is sacrifice and commitment.

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My earliest memories of literature were the Hardy Brothers and the Book of Virtues. I got really into the Hardy Brothers mystery stories when I was young and my father always read the Book of Virtues to me. My most recent memories of literature fall mainly under the Christian Inspiriation umbrella. I love C.S Lewis' classics and the philosophical approach of G.K Chesterton. I read G.K Chesterton's book Orthodoxy at a crucial time in my spiritual journey and it played a big role in my life. Literature plays a monumental role in society. Literature is how people express themselves. It's an infusion of emotions, beliefs, stories and ideals that has limitless power.