“The mythic world is more real than ‘real’ life.” This line spoke with me. One of my favorite life quotes is this: "Incorporating the magical world into your physical world will quickly show you which one is real and which one is delusion." I've had that quote on my wall for three years and it has indeed changed my life.
Imagination is critical in solving problems and we need more imagination in our adult years, especially now that we have an idea of how the world works (staying concrete).
Thank you for this post and here's a post on imagination if anyone may be interested:
“The mythic world is more real than ‘real’ life.” I’m reminded about this every time I encounter a lighted lamppost during a snowfall. It takes me right back to encountering these stories as a child and reminds me of the deep magic of the world.
A couple of years ago, I read “My Side of the Mountain,” which I had never read as a child. It’s not faerie, but true fantastical realism; as you read it, the narrative is entirely consistent from the perspective of a 14yo boy, in that liminal space between childhood and adulthood. Just as Miyazaki creates stories that hold together with the internal coherence of dreams, Joyce Craighead George makes you *know,* not just believe, in the power of the child-mind.
At 49 I feel equipped, finally, to be a child, and I wish I could have a second chance at what I was so desperate to escape from at the time.
Thank you for the great article. There is certainly a pathway from unconscious childhood into acceptance of material reality and it's difficulties through to finding the ultimate mythology and becoming 'as children' again. Yet the last transformation is different as you have seen the world for what it is and chosen to move beyond the material understanding, a necessity as there is a grail of life giving motivation in the mythological which can toughen the individual against any material hardship.
I love the goodness and search for goodness here. Reading this brought me joy and made me think. I love how you reframed using our imaginations (childlike vs childish) and the benefits of it.
"In the invented world, grass needn’t be green — it might instead be blue. Then, when you return again to the primary world, you may see “real” grass anew, as if for the first time, because now you’ve seen it elsewhere in a different stage of the imagination. This is what keeps our eyes childish."
This one was striking: "Lewis saw that the grind of modernity (and adulthood) makes us lose a sense of mystery in ordinary things, and with it a sense of meaning."
I suppose, just while reading your post, I found my New Year's resolution, which is to cultivate and preserve an inner child that would not be shut down by daily responsibilities. Moreover, to teach my kids how to carry on with a sense of wonder about God, the people and the world around them.
As an “older person”, (although coming from a long line of women who lie about their age, I am adopting the Jack Benny age theory), I suspect I am experiencing a second childhood. I am filled with wonder about such things as birds and flowers. Our pastor Tom once said, and I paraphrase, that if you are observant about the world around you, you can’t help but believe in God.
“The mythic world is more real than ‘real’ life.” This line spoke with me. One of my favorite life quotes is this: "Incorporating the magical world into your physical world will quickly show you which one is real and which one is delusion." I've had that quote on my wall for three years and it has indeed changed my life.
Imagination is critical in solving problems and we need more imagination in our adult years, especially now that we have an idea of how the world works (staying concrete).
Thank you for this post and here's a post on imagination if anyone may be interested:
https://unorthodoxy.substack.com/p/god-wants-you-to-solve-your-own-problems
“The mythic world is more real than ‘real’ life.” I’m reminded about this every time I encounter a lighted lamppost during a snowfall. It takes me right back to encountering these stories as a child and reminds me of the deep magic of the world.
A couple of years ago, I read “My Side of the Mountain,” which I had never read as a child. It’s not faerie, but true fantastical realism; as you read it, the narrative is entirely consistent from the perspective of a 14yo boy, in that liminal space between childhood and adulthood. Just as Miyazaki creates stories that hold together with the internal coherence of dreams, Joyce Craighead George makes you *know,* not just believe, in the power of the child-mind.
At 49 I feel equipped, finally, to be a child, and I wish I could have a second chance at what I was so desperate to escape from at the time.
Beautiful, thanks for the recommendation!
Thank you for your commentary today. It was exactly what I needed: a dose of Narnia.
Good read. Thank you.
Thank you for the great article. There is certainly a pathway from unconscious childhood into acceptance of material reality and it's difficulties through to finding the ultimate mythology and becoming 'as children' again. Yet the last transformation is different as you have seen the world for what it is and chosen to move beyond the material understanding, a necessity as there is a grail of life giving motivation in the mythological which can toughen the individual against any material hardship.
I love the goodness and search for goodness here. Reading this brought me joy and made me think. I love how you reframed using our imaginations (childlike vs childish) and the benefits of it.
I had a drastically different childhood and the fantasies I devoured were Tarzan and Conan the Barbarian. Some very different lessons in those.
"In the invented world, grass needn’t be green — it might instead be blue. Then, when you return again to the primary world, you may see “real” grass anew, as if for the first time, because now you’ve seen it elsewhere in a different stage of the imagination. This is what keeps our eyes childish."
This is so insightful!
I highly recommend reading Tolkien's essay "On Fairy-Stories"!
This one was striking: "Lewis saw that the grind of modernity (and adulthood) makes us lose a sense of mystery in ordinary things, and with it a sense of meaning."
I suppose, just while reading your post, I found my New Year's resolution, which is to cultivate and preserve an inner child that would not be shut down by daily responsibilities. Moreover, to teach my kids how to carry on with a sense of wonder about God, the people and the world around them.
As an “older person”, (although coming from a long line of women who lie about their age, I am adopting the Jack Benny age theory), I suspect I am experiencing a second childhood. I am filled with wonder about such things as birds and flowers. Our pastor Tom once said, and I paraphrase, that if you are observant about the world around you, you can’t help but believe in God.
Another good retelling of those books. The term "Shadowlands", as employed by Lewis, took a new meaning thanks to him.
Clearly expressed and refreshingly lucid. Storytelling needs good defending in a world full of grumpy idealism and ersatz maturity.