He wrote about CS Lewis tonight, whom he writes about so often. One of his literary heroes and personal role models. After I finished his paper, I started reading some of Lewis's work myself, and came across this whopper, which I then jotted down on a note card and taped to my fridge:
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”
Goodnight.
From my limited research, I have learned that the Buddha says, among other things, that 1. there is suffering in life and 2. the cause of that suffering is attachment. "Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken." The Buddha left his wife and newborn in order to find enlightenment, or happiness. I read recently (in "Committed" by Elizabeth Gilbert) that the Buddha thought that no married person could be fully enlightened because of the attachment to spouse and family.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I'd rather be loved and love than to be truly enlightened. I'll take that risk.
I know C.S. Lewis was Catholic. It's interesting to see the parallel here.
Les,
ReplyDeleteJust read this post. I love the way you understand and appreciate Jeremy and his hard working mind. I think you are one of the people in this world that appreciates him the way his wife wants people to so it warmed my heart to read that. I am obsessed with the quote by Lewis you picked out. I am going to put that on my fridge. Thanks for sharing! Miss you so much!