Since I wasn't able to make it to class on Thursday the 17th. I decided to do the in class assignment on my own. I turned some relaxing music on and began to paint. The words I focused my painting on are located in the first chapter of the book of Joel. It says, "Mighty without number; it's teeth are the teeth of a lion, And it has the fangs of a lioness."
After reading Chapter 1 and 2 of A Grief Observed, it was apparent to me what the author is trying to say. It almost seems as if the author, C.S. Lewis is trying to do exactly what the title implies; observe grieving from his personal perspective. It’s something most people in the world have to go through at least once in their lives. The difference between most people’s perspective of grieving a loss and Lewis’ perspective of grieving his particular loss is his loss was expected. This gives Lewis a perspective of being able to reflect on grieving in a real almost direct way. Many people can’t gather the strength to actually reflect on the pain they are going through. I believe Lewis was able to do this because it was somewhat therapeutically for him to reflect on it. From what it looks like it also made it easier for him to grasp the loss itself.
Lewis reflects on life itself many times throughout the chapters. One part that stuck out to me the most in located on page 9 when Lewis says something most profound. He said, “’ I lay awake all night with toothache, thinking about toothache and about lying awake.’ That’s true to life.” In this passage Lewis reflects on one’s focus of one’s pain. He is hurting. He lies in bed at night thinking about the hurt itself. Not about what it was caused by, but the ache itself. He also focuses on the results of the aching. He lies awake because of the toothache so he thinks about the toothache and the results of the pain it’s causing him. This is life. We do this so very often. We obsess over pain. We consume ourselves with the effect this pain has had on our life. Rarely do we look at the big picture. We focus on the now.
"We focus on the now." Yes and also no, I think. We most often don't see the big picture, I think you're right about that. But how often do we do what Lewis does and actually focus on what we are feeling and thinking right now--as opposed to thinking about something we have to do in a few hours or a few days or replaying something in our minds that took place earlier or psyching ourselves into feeling what we think that we ought to be feeling? Too much. I think that if we learn to focus more on the now--on the actual present moment that we are in--then we'll also have a better perspective on the big picture. What do you think about that?
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