Posted: September 22nd, 2007, 10:45 pmAssigned to read it probably has a de-pleasuring effect all by itself... 
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Posted: September 22nd, 2007, 10:45 pmPosted: September 24th, 2007, 4:55 amPosted: September 26th, 2007, 4:45 pmThe 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.
Posted: October 5th, 2007, 4:55 pmPosted: October 5th, 2007, 5:13 pmPosted: October 5th, 2007, 6:04 pmPosted: October 6th, 2007, 8:50 pmPosted: October 9th, 2007, 8:57 amPosted: October 12th, 2007, 6:44 pmI 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.
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.