Dear Malady and Purl,
I finally finished reading Mere Christianity and I enjoyed the book. A chapter that really intrigued me in the final book was the one called "Is Christianity Hard or Easy?" Lewis talks about the necessity of giving up your "natural self" to become truly good.
I really identify with the struggle that happens between my natural self (the selfish part of me that wants to let myself go wherever my thoughts and feelings take me) and the part that wants to grow and leave the world a better place.
Lewis says the natural self is perfectly..., well, natural and is a part of life. That you have to indulge it to keep your batteries charged up. But then he talks about "killing your natural self" to move into a realm of true enlightenment.
I'm wondering if and how this is possible. Have you tried to do this, even in some small way? If so, could you share any of your experiences? I would like to know how you interpret what Lewis is describing here.
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4 comments:
You know, I think this is another wonderful example of how faiths can intersect. I have always thought about this idea in terms of the Buddhist principle of the negation of self and the cessation of desire. Kind of a hard state to achieve. We are human beings living in the world. That is our context. So, we have to work within those constraints. I think God just wants us to do our best.
The book SABBATH that I hope we can explore in the future points out that spending all of your time volunteering and helping others without ever giving yourself any time to recharge does a disservice both to yourself and those you are trying to help. We need to prevent burnout and make sure to have a little time to nurture ourselves. This enables us to go back out and give to others. I like that idea.
-M
It sounds like SABBATH supports the idea of life balance. I look forward to reading that book.
After I finished school last winter, I've tried to spend some time every day doing the things that recharge my batteries (exercise, reading, writing in my blog). It's taken some time, but I've gotten a lot better. I certainly FEEL a lot better.
Probably what Lewis is getting at is to find healthy ways to make time for yourself. Going for a walk is obviously a healthier way to relax than coming home and having four gin martinis.
Although a gin martini or two can be quite lovely sometimes!!!!
Amen!
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