Bears, Babies, and Bananas

Here are the words of C.S. Lewis regarding nature written in 1958 (Reflections on the Psalms):

"You must go a little away from her, and then turn round, and look back. Then at last the true landscape will become visible. . . . Come out, look back, and then you will see . . . this astonishing cataract of bears, babies, and bananas: this immoderate deluge of atoms, orchids, oranges, cancers, canaries, fleas, gases, tornadoes, and toads. How could you have ever thought this was the ultimate reality? . . . She is herself. Offer her neither worship nor contempt."

Lewis is described by some as a man who embraced the everyday. He would often cast his philosophic/theologic notions onto the backdrop of the ordinary. This is clearly evidenced in the following passage from Surprised by Joy wherein he praises the structure of a normal day:

[I]f I could please myself I would always live as I lived there. I would choose always to breakfast at exactly eight and to be at my desk by nine, there to read or write till one. If a good cup of tea or coffee could be brought me about eleven, so much the better. A step or so out of doors [...] The return from the walk, and the arrival of tea, should be exactly coincident, and not later than a quarter past four. Tea should be taken in solitude, . . . [f]or eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably. Of course not all books are suitable for mealtime reading. It would be a kind of blasphemy to read poetry at table. What one wants is a gossipy, formless book which can be opened anywhere. . . . At five a man should be at work again, and at it till seven. Then, at the evening meal and after, comes the time for talk, or, failing that, for lighter reading; and unless you are making a night of it with your cronies . . . there is no reason why you should ever be in bed later than eleven.

I find this structure of a day somewhat comforting, hardly boring. Within this framework, Lewis created great works that no doubt will provide pleasure and stimulate thought for decades to come. Lewis felt that such a life was quite selfish as it is an inward existence focussed solely on the life subject. He contends, however, that selfishness, though less admirable than generousity, can lead to a rich life - one worth living. He once composed an epitaph for a Florence Nightengale type which read:

Erected by her sorrowing brothers
In memory of Martha Clay.
Here lies one who lived for others;
Now she has peace.
And so have they.

I can think of countless do-gooders who have turned my free-time into bothersome boredom with their well meaning desire to "help." I think C. S. Lewis was on to something here.

All information taken from this site page : "First Things: The Everyday C. S. Lewis"
http://www.firstthings.com/ftissues/ft9808/meilaender.html