I've been feeling a bit bedraggled lately, but continue to press on. There is a lot of drama going on all around me and several of my friends are in the middle of a time of crisis. I do what I can to help and it does feel good to be able to see them through the tough times, but sometimes I wonder if I allow myself to get too close. One of my long-running shortcomings has been in carrying others through bad times instead of stepping back a bit and walking beside them while letting them learn how to carry themselves. It brings to mind the saying "Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, you feed him for life." I have a hard time striking a balance between giving too much, giving too little, and finding precisely what to give. I need to keep remembering that I am only human and our lives are an art which we are continually perfecting.
I just finished reading a copy of Running With Scissors lent to me by a coworker. All I will say is that it is both hilarious and horrifying, mostly due to the fact that it is based on true events in someone's life. At my sister's urging, I've finally dug into the boxed set of The Chronicles of Narnia which I purchased back in early August. I am already on The Silver Chair (fourth book). I read parts of The Chronicles back in third or fourth grade as an assignment and due to the nature of the assignment, I hated the books at the time. Now I love them and find them to be a great mental vacation as well as spiritual/emotional soul food. As I've likely said many times before, I am thankful for my sister. She is very well-versed in literature and always seems to know what readings to recommend to me when I am feeling depressed or worn out.
A while back, my friends P and R hooked me up with copies of Wonder Falls and I watched the final episode last night. It had many common themes and the same general feel as Dead Like Me (not coincidental due to the two shows having a producer in common). Speaking of TV, I just read an article in a local paper where the folks in a housing development are up in arms about their cable TV rates being raised because of the recent Comcast takeover in my community. I can understand people being annoyed because of large rate increases on any utility, but what surprised me is the sense of entitlement with which they expressed their anger. Some seem to think that cable is a Divinely bestowed right and a necessity. OK, so maybe I am a little biased... I've not had any sort of paid TV programming package for over three years now because I couldn't justify paying $50 a month for a stripped package that did not come with any of the channels I wanted to see, and I DEFINITELY couldn't justify paying over $90 just to watch nature shows and historical documentaries. Not to mention the fact that my TV watching averages less than a half hour a day. I occasionally go weeks without watching any at all. TV programming has it's place, but real life is far more interesting and fulfilling than a passive, vicarious existence in front of a screen.
3 comments:
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So glad you are rediscovering the Chronicles. I have been a big fan for a long time. Both the Silver Chair and Voyage of the Dawn Treader usually move me to tears.
My ultimate favorite CS Lewis book is the last novel he wrote before he died called, Till We Have Faces. I think I have read it 15 times. Rare for me as I often do not read a book more than once.
While on books, have you read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. A very good read about a person who happens to be Intersex.
I hope things are going better for your friends and that you have been able to maintain the balance you need between helping and holding back.
Thanks Peterson, I'll have to check those books out at some point... my reading list is longer than my arm right now, so it's likely to be a while. In further reading, I AM enjoying The Chronicles still, but also noticing what seems to be subtle misogyny and a few hints of racism on the part of the author. If taken as an allegory, I also see bits of the ugly religious elitism that I've noticed in some religious circles. I still like the books very much and the imagery is beautiful... I am not trying to emasculate them of their true value. It just seems that the author was not immune to the perceptions and attitudes of his era.
The balance of giving has been forthcoming, things seem to be refined to a happy medium now. A couple of the friends are moving/have moved through quite well.
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