I've been reading C. S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" and find it absolutely fascinating. Every sentence reads like modern speak, and every paragraph loads my mind with more theory and concept than before. I would barely put it down if not to only absorb the material I have read already. I would, without a doubt, recommend it to anyone. With that said, the content of the book, in the first of four 'books', has nothing to do with the religion of Christianity, and he makes it very clear that the reader should not mistake his words.
A few interesting points stuck with me, some are not valid for this blog, rather just for personal enhancement, and would take far too much back story for you to fully understand their meanings. Even trying to summarize the first 5 chapters would take, well, the first 5 chapters to summarize. So go read it. The first interesting point worth note is the way he addresses life. I derived these ideas from just a brief note he made, so it's not really from him. As I worded it to Marie, it dealt with tea. In the process of making tea, we use several statics, which are in my context, dynamics themselves, not just the statics to the dynamic of making tea. First we have hot water; second is tea, ground and in a filter bag; third is sugar; fourth is ice. The process is simple, but rather intense.
1) Say I was to tell you that each of those elements listed above has a spirit: a force within it that tells itself and the rest of the world what it is and what it does. Here is how the process would take place: "Hot water flows through the tea. In the process, the tea willfully imparts itself to the water, who takes on the tea. Now the two have become one. The new hot water-tea is then poured over sugar, who willingly gives itself to the creation of, yet again, one entity: hot, sweet water-tea. Combined with the aid from a human, the two mix beautifully, in swirls and scents that are pleasing, because the two are pleased to become one. The last element is to be included, and it is ice. The hot, sweet water-tea is poured over ice, who willingly adds its substance and relaxation to the previous mixture. This must be done slowly, as it is a relaxing of the spirits. Once all have become one, they are pleased to impart their joy to a human."
2) Say I was to tell you that each of those elements listed had a molecular composition like none other: a force within it that tells itself and the rest of the world what it is and what it does. Here is how the process would take place: "Water's molecules, when heated, move faster than when at room-temperature. This allows for it to attain a slightly different composition. This hot water is then strained through the ground tea, which deposits microscopic stains onto the water. These stains contain, at the atomic level, the live code that tells our human brains what it smells, tastes, and looks like. Once completed, the batch of stained water is added to sugar, which also dissolves into microscopic particles and blends with the hot, stained water. now the three have only become one because of the heat of the water: if it were cool water, the intensity would be extremely lower. This combination must then be cooled to a desirable temperature. The hot mixture is poured over ice, which is of course frozen water and has extremely slow moving atoms. The fusion of the slow with the fast particles causes a molecular solidification, which maintains the stains and microscopic particles in the water by, essentially, creating new molecules which possess the atomic qualities of all four ingredients."
Which one sounds more like the correct answer? We would be more inclined to answer, "The second one, obviously," because it is the only one we will ever be 100% sure of its truths. One can not observe a spirit, but can observe the materials. I agree with C. S. Lewis on the note that one can not simple explain some things by observation: yes we can know how the tea is made and how it tastes so good, but we can't explain why sugar contains happy molecules when in contact with our taste buds, or why the smell of the tea causes us to salivate. We can merely observe and report, but not explain the things that come before it. Lewis uses the 'Law of Gravity' in his book to explain this idea in comparison to the 'Law of Human Nature' (where the law of gravity may not be broken, the law of human nature is a suggested outcome, but not always the case)
I have begun to see how everything actually does contain molecules and tiny tiny particles that we can only see through a microscope, but what if those are not the actions, but merely the reaction, or the proof of the action, that the spirit within implements? In that kind of light, we can see how everything is, in fact, alive.
Through the past few months of cooking, I have really seen how it can be done so that you almost connect to things through a sort of non-physical way, and not quite head knowledge either. Through cooking corn, if given the time to embrace the elements, one can know - without testing - that the corn is cooked well. It becomes difficult to explain because most of this 'connection' doesn't take place in the usual places of the brain: it's almost not even in the brain, more in the soul. So in these past few months, as I said, I have been connected to the food I create, and thus am sure of its perfection.
What I am getting at is that, like with the food, one can connect to other things, specifically people. Have you ever been in a place where you just
hurt for someone, or maybe you smile out of nowhere because of a notion of another person? I don't believe it's coincidence that we should be connected to others in a way that supersedes the physical. For a Christian, that should almost be normal concept: you connect to your God that way, and also have intercession.
We are meant to live for so much more.
