While reading the three short stories assigned, I began to ponder life and what it truly means to read. I found myself agreeing with most of the readings and began to recognize, to a certain degree, why literature is vital in our lives.
The beginning of 'Why Read Literature' began with my full attention. I find exercising to be an important part of our daily life, and enjoyed how the author made a correlation of the vitality of literature as being as important as exercising. Reading expands out knowledge and increases our surroundings. It opens up worlds that we would not dare open. It gives us a plug to a world beyond our own eyes. The story about Malcolm X is amazing. That he let reading be his escape from being in the person. Wow. I liked the quote, "We are not mere empty receptacles ready to be filled with information, but living beings who are inspired by literary encounters to explore and transform ourselves." To me that resounds volume because of the profession I am pursuing, medicine. It demonstrates that through my studies are not just information but a tool to equip me with the right attire to transform lives and in a way to be transformed myself.
"Literature allows us to 'get over ourselves' and for a moment, at least, enter into another's vision and perspective." I completely agree with this quotation because it demonstrates to me how I view readings that inspire, teach, change, mold, challenge my thinking.
'Reading for Transformation' was very intriguing to many different angles. I enjoyed how the piece talked about reading The Bible, and what one may attain from such a reading. "When we pray with poetry, whether the biblical poetry of the psalms or non-biblical poetry open to Christian appropriation, we open ourselves to the possibility of spiritual experience." This explains to me why The Word is alive today, that it is the our daily bread. Because though the word of God we are somehow transformed and become open for God to reveal things in us through the Holy Spirit he bestows unto us. Neat.
I enjoyed how the author discussed that a poem touches us on a deep level that is expands our understanding. That is true, even in that passage it expanded my horizon of literature meaning.
The reading 'Darkness, Questions, Poetry and Spiritual Hope' was really quite a different way to look at hope and spirituality. A way that I have not really looked before as being death. I can relate to the author. How can we know pain, suffering, loneliness without experiencing it. WIthout such death, we can not know love, joy, and happiness. We would be live like empty shells walking around. I do agree that in our daily walk we need to be aware of things around us and to step in a be a part of what the author would consider 'death' which is things we don't want to talk about or discuss because the sadden us and give us grief. In a way its like without such death how could we be alive. How could life have meaning and hope. "To live without any awareness of it all is death pure and simple--even one may still be walking around smelling perfect." Wow that is so true. Ignorance only gets us so far, but true life is awareness of what is going on. Sometimes pain and the actions of others causes scares in our hearts that remain but without such pain that is sometimes knife deep we can not experience true forgiveness and sacrifice without having gone through it.
Sounds like you're "getting it."
ReplyDeleteI like how you relate this to your field of medicine.
I would never advocate increasing the amount of pain and suffering in the world. But I am in favor of increasing our awareness of it, so that we can deal with it in ways that, in the end, are hopeful.