Every morning when I pull out my books and get ready for another day of class, I wonder what life would be like if I set aside the questions and the desire to know, and instead settled for an existence without the beauty that I've come to know and love.
What do we do when our lives come to such a state that the biggest question we ask is what's going to happen when the new season of our favorite TV show comes out? When our standard of beauty comes from the realm of popular music? When we never really open our eyes to see the richness that's available to us?
The kind of rigorous intellectual life that I pursue now in college isn't meant for everyone. My suspicion is that it won't even be for me after I graduate. This extraordinary season of hard study and exposure to great thinking will in all likelihood be a very brief season.
But I hope I never abandon the "further up, further in" mentality that Lewis so wonderfully presents in The Last Battle. It seems to me that every state of life has a little room in it for beauty and thought. In fact, it seems that God created us in such a way that we're wasting His gifts if we live a life without that beauty and thought.
Still, we settle for the lower things. Sometimes I just want to throw all the books to the side and spend time with the transient and superficial. Why? It's not because I find it easier. In the end it's always harder to live without beauty, and it's harder to pursue God when I'm attaching myself to the things that are further from Him. But I think, quite frankly, that the lower things appeal to me because I've given myself a taste for the lower things. I choose them not because they're easier but because they're pleasant.
But we miss out on a lot when we choose the things that are pleasant above the things that are truly beautiful. We miss out on the richness of our Faith, the richness of creation, and the richness of our own natures. Pleasure belongs to all the animals. The higher things belong to us. They're a link to God, lifting our eyes to gaze on Him and marvel.
May we always leave room on our shelves for good books and room in our minds for great thoughts.
But we miss out on a lot when we choose the things that are pleasant above the things that are truly beautiful. We miss out on the richness of our Faith, the richness of creation, and the richness of our own natures. Pleasure belongs to all the animals. The higher things belong to us. They're a link to God, lifting our eyes to gaze on Him and marvel.
May we always leave room on our shelves for good books and room in our minds for great thoughts.
Beautiful, as always. I agree %100, and it's encouraging to remember that one has control over what she attaches herself to, and that we're always happier when we take the time to understand beauty.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Clare!
I completely agree! Beautifully written, what you said is very true. I especially like,"we miss out on a lot when we choose the things that are pleasant above the things that are truly beautiful."
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