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rebeccmeisterI gave my father a Christmas present he didn't particularly like this year (Breaking the Spell), and so he wrote me a letter explaining his hesitations as he began to read. I can understand where he's coming from, because the subject matter is deeply important to him, as it is to me. I also had a lot of misgivings as I read because Dennett took quite a bit of time before he finally put forth his own ideas about how to find meaning and purpose in life. I like to know an author's agendas so I can decide if I agree or disagree and interpret his or her arguments accordingly. But I found the following passage quite poignant and applicable:
"What [some spiritual] people have realized is one of the best secrets of life: let your self go. If you can approach the world's complexities, both its glories and its horrors, with an attitude of humble curiosity, acknowledging that however deeply you have seen, you have only just scratched the surface, you will find worlds within worlds, beauties you could not heretofore imagine, and your own mundane preoccupations will shrink to proper size, not all that important in the greater scheme of things. Keeping that awestruck vision of the world ready to hand while dealing with the demands of daily life is no easy exercie, but it is definitely worth the effort, for if you can stay centered, and engaged, you will find the hard choices easier, the right words will come to you when you need them, and you will indeed be a better person." (Breaking the Spell, by Daniel Dennett, p. 303).
I am reminded of an afternoon that I spent on Salt Spring Island, in British Columbia. I was sitting on a dock (it's in the painting that's my usericon for this post, but hard to see), looking out over the water and watching swallows swoop and dive for insects. A fairly simple thought occurred to me: we can try to understand, in minute detail, the physiological and psychological workings of those swallows, but that can never detract from the sheer beauty of watching them fly over the lake.
I find a lot of comfort in reaching this point of agreement amidst the controversial and difficult questions that Dennet raises.
"What [some spiritual] people have realized is one of the best secrets of life: let your self go. If you can approach the world's complexities, both its glories and its horrors, with an attitude of humble curiosity, acknowledging that however deeply you have seen, you have only just scratched the surface, you will find worlds within worlds, beauties you could not heretofore imagine, and your own mundane preoccupations will shrink to proper size, not all that important in the greater scheme of things. Keeping that awestruck vision of the world ready to hand while dealing with the demands of daily life is no easy exercie, but it is definitely worth the effort, for if you can stay centered, and engaged, you will find the hard choices easier, the right words will come to you when you need them, and you will indeed be a better person." (Breaking the Spell, by Daniel Dennett, p. 303).
I am reminded of an afternoon that I spent on Salt Spring Island, in British Columbia. I was sitting on a dock (it's in the painting that's my usericon for this post, but hard to see), looking out over the water and watching swallows swoop and dive for insects. A fairly simple thought occurred to me: we can try to understand, in minute detail, the physiological and psychological workings of those swallows, but that can never detract from the sheer beauty of watching them fly over the lake.
I find a lot of comfort in reaching this point of agreement amidst the controversial and difficult questions that Dennet raises.
