Tuesday, January 22, 2008

A Fun Story From the Desert Fathers!

Two brothers had lived together for many years and never had a quarrel. One day, the first said:'Let's have a quarrel like men in the outside world do'. The second replied: 'But I don't know how to have a quarrel.' So the first said: 'Look I'll put down a brick between us and I'll say: "It's mine". Then you must reply: "No, it's mine." And so the quarrel will begin.' So they found a brick and put it between them and the first said: 'It's mine', and the second said: 'No it's mine'. So the first replied: 'Oh well then, if it's yours, take it'. And so they did not succeed in having a quarrel.

-From the Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Monday, January 21, 2008

Books!

In college I was frustrated by the fact that my wisest teachers would say very little about the books we were reading. I understood that their reticence to make authoritative pronouncements was a teaching strategy, and that it was a form of humility. Still, I felt like they were holding out on me, so I would get angry. There was a little envy mixed in there too, because it was exhausting having a thousand thoughts bouncing around in my head about every book. As I have gotten some distance from school and the performance anxiety that go along with it, I have grown in appreciation of the ability to take a quiet stand on the one or two ideas that matter most to you in a book. It may look from the outside like you are being lazy, but from what little I know of it, getting to this place of repose is painful inner work. Being honest about your limitations shouldn't be painful, but it is.