Monday, November 14, 2011

A Quieter and More Lasting Kind of Interest

“People get from books the idea that if you have married the right person you may expect to go on ‘being in love’ forever. As a result, when they find they are not, they think this proves they have made a mistake and are entitled to a change—not realizing that, when they have changed, the glamour will presently go out of the new love just as it went out of the old one. In this department of life, as in every other, thrills come at the beginning and do not last. The sort of thrill a boy has at the first idea of flying will not go on when he has joined the RAF and is really learning to fly. The thrill you feel on first seeing some delightful place dies away when you really go to live there. Does this mean it would be better not to learn to fly and not to live in the beautiful place? By no means. In both cases, if you go through with it, the dying away of their first thrill will be compensated for by a quieter and more lasting kind of interest. What is more (and I can hardly find words to tell you how important I think this), it is just the people who are ready to submit to the loss of the thrill and settle down to the sober interest, who are then most likely to meet new thrills in some quite different direction. The man who has learned to fly and becomes a good pilot will suddenly discover music; the man who has settled down to live in the beauty spot will discover gardening.” 
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

1 comment:

  1. Ahhhhh...excerpted as only an excerpter could, who is ready to settle down and discover gardening.

    Reminds me of Chesterton's view of the status quo. That only a child or God could rejoice in doing the same thing over and over and over again. We, adults, tire of monotony much too easily. We're ready to move on to the "Next Big Thing" while God can rejoice over a new sunrise every morning and another daisy in the field, or a child can rejoice over the endless repetition of a game that would kill most adults.

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