Friday, May 14, 2010

What is it about CS Lewis?



I just love this man. I can't even really articulate why I love CS Lewis so much. It's like he clicks something on, somewhere inside of me. I think that if he was alive, or I was alive then, I might have stalked him. That sounds awful, doesn't it? I won't lie. I love brilliant men. And he has a brilliance about him when you read his writings. I love his story. Not a new one. But a very powerful story of conversion from atheism to faith in Christ. He set out to disprove God, and the power of the testimony changed his heart. And the great thing about Christ is, he doesn't change you into a Stepford. He makes the intrinsic you better. And that's what he did with CS Lewis. If you have never read anything by him, don't start with the Chronicles of Narnia. I don't say that because they aren't good. I say that because that would be the easy route. Start with Mere Christianity. If you don't appreciate CS Lewis then, well, that's okay. But I have a feeling you will. His rational explanations carry serious weight. He doesn't do that whole "you must believe because I said so" thing. He gives well-thought, reasoned points for why Christianity is valid.

I don't put him on a pedestal. He was human. But, I've heard some really demonizing things said about him, that I disagree with in my heart. I admit, you can be mislead about people. But my heart seems to know him. I have evaluated him as a person, and I really like the man that he was. Okay, yes, it's creepy, my love for CS Lewis. But, at least I'm owning up to it. :)

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Try a Little Kindness

I've noticed that kindness seems to be in short supply in the world. It's sad. It doesn't take that much more energy to be kind to others. I imagine it sounds naive. But, I'd like to think that if we all do that, show others that we care enough to treat others well, that the world will be a better place. It's not about religion. It's not about creed. It's about humanity. As human beings, we have choices. We have the choice to do the right thing. We often fail at that. We all have bad days, where it is really hard to be nice to others. But, we should all take a second and put ourselves in each other's shoes. It really hurts when someone is mean to us, and we didn't do anything to that person. It hurts, even if we know that we earned a harsh word from someone. Because we feel that pain, I would like to think, we can try not to cause that pain to someone else.

I'm an animal lover. I can stand for hours and watch an animal do rather mundane, every day things. One thing I've realized about animals is, they don't have the instincts for cruelty and ugliness that humans do. Yes, cats will play with their food. I don't particularly like that behavior. But, it's training to be better hunters. What do humans gain from hurting others? Material things, a sense of satisfaction that you 'got one over on someone else', a good laugh. But, how much does that really measure up to in the end? I think it will lead to a lot of regrets. People who are known to be cruel, hurtful, and callous, do they really have many friends? Do people love them out of choice instead of obligation? Will they look back on their lives and be happy with what they did in the past? I don't think so. My goal is life is to be able to look in the mirror and be proud of the person looking back at me. This helps me to govern my behavior. I find that I have little to be proud of when I've hurt someone. Even if I won an argument, and I have the empty satisfaction of being right, the echo of the guilt of knowing that I won that battle at an ugly price (a Pyrrhic victory) in the end.

This day, I ask myself and others to do something. Just be kind. Try it. You may find that it becomes a way of life. Disciplining oneself to work that much harder to be nice to others will lead to a greater facility at doing so, even though some people seem to beg to be told off, to be spurned, to be disliked. Instead of starting mess because you don't like someone, try to sow seeds of peace. Why? Because you'd want the same to be done to you. After all, the Golden Rule is an old rule that never goes out of style.

Just a thought.