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Surprised by Joy

Comprising most of Lewis' writings.
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Postby Sven » September 22nd, 2007, 10:45 pm

Assigned to read it probably has a de-pleasuring effect all by itself... :undecided:
Rat! he found breath to whisper, shaking. Are you afraid?
Afraid? murmured the Rat, his eyes shining with unutterable love.
Afraid! Of Him? O, never, never! And yet -- and yet -- O, Mole, I am afraid!
Then the two animals, crouching to the earth, bowed their heads and did worship.
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Postby moordarjeeling » September 24th, 2007, 4:55 am

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Postby Lori » September 26th, 2007, 4:45 pm

The assignment is for a graduate counseling course, an autobiographical reflection paper. I chose to read A Grief Observed, and Surprised by Joy together, then reflect on my own personal experience. It was interesting all in all.
"Human will becomes truly creative and truly our own when it is wholly God's, and this is one of the many senses in which he that loses his soul shall find it."
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Postby postodave » October 5th, 2007, 4:55 pm

So I drew my sword and got ready
But the lamb ran away with the crown
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Postby Karen » October 5th, 2007, 5:13 pm

I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library. -- Jorge Luis Borges
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Postby Lori » October 5th, 2007, 6:04 pm

"Human will becomes truly creative and truly our own when it is wholly God's, and this is one of the many senses in which he that loses his soul shall find it."
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Postby moordarjeeling » October 6th, 2007, 8:50 pm

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Postby postodave » October 9th, 2007, 8:57 am

So I drew my sword and got ready
But the lamb ran away with the crown
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Postby surprisedbyjoy » October 12th, 2007, 6:44 pm

I feel strangely compelled to comment on this topic...I wonder why.

I found SbyJ extremely moving because Lewis described an feeling that I thought, before reading it, that no one else had experienced--what he calls joy or sehsucht. I thought it was my private emotional treasure, and I saw no signs of it in anyone else. Since I read the book, I've come to realize that this may be a more common experience than I thought (though, maybe becoming less common as my generation loses the idea of beauty--but that's another topic). However, I still treasure SbyJ for describing an experience that has been nearly as important to me as it was to Lewis.

It seems that the book mainly impresses people who share with Lewis the experience of joy (as he defines it). If you haven't felt that longing, it's hard to understand why he makes such a big deal of it. If you have, you know that practically nothing else is so important.
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