Sunday, December 15, 2002
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Friday the 13th is lucky, after all. :) Now I can stop being confuddled and befused... Or maybe not entirely....

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Because of all this work in the Muggle world, I haven't been able to update my blog. Oh, sheep.

Well, I finally finished reading "The Magician's Nephew" some days ago (the final chapter got held up in favor of parts of Goblet of Fire), and I can't wait to start on "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe".

As I was reading, though, I came across some very interesting passages, thought of some interesting parallels, and found some interesting lessons to be learned. :D

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After having been awakened by Polly and Digory in the chapter entitled "The Deplorable Word", Queen Jadis told Digory: "I had forgotten that you are only a common boy. How should you understand reasons of State? You must learn, child, that what would be wrong for you or for any of the common people is not wrong in a great Queen such as I. The weight of the world is on our shoulders. We must be freed from all rules. Ours is a high and lonely destiny."

This is what I like about C.S. Lewis' style of writing. There's something very intriguing about the way he chooses his words. It's very striking, really. :)

That's an interesting passage, though. For some weird reason, I'm thinking most of the rulers of the modern world are saying that. They are so enamored of the thought that they are superior to the common people, and thus, exempt from the rules. Rulers tend to forget that they are actually, in effect, servants to all. And how many Rulers have committed crimes in the name of "reasons of State"? Being a ruler or a leader is indeed, a high and lonely destiny... but only if one distances himself or herself from the people he/she rules. This is one destiny that a person can actually reshape. :) Although in the end, the Ruler is still alone, mostly directly responsible for the fate of the Ruled, an affinity for the people can lessen the loneliness and greatly reduce the heights.

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In "The End of This Story and The Beginning of A New One", after Digory gave the apple to his Mother, it was said that "For the rest of that day, whenever he looked at the things about him and saw how ordinary and unmagical they were, he hardly dared to hope; but when he remembered the face of Aslan, he did hope."

Sometimes I need to slap myself awake when I start thinking that my world is ordinary and unmagical. When things get dreary and sad, the world seems totally unremarkable. Look at the faces of the people, and they seem to have the same expression. Look around, and things seem uninteresting. But it takes very little effort for everything to suddenly become wondrous and magical. A good deed, encouraging words from a good friend, a smile, a hug, a moment shared with someone important to you.... none of them quite as grand as Aslan, but equally effective and equally moving.

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Another intriguing aspect of the Narnia saga is related to creation and destruction. Queen Jadis destroyed all the living beings in Charn by just one Deplorable Word. It's as easy as that. Say the word correctly with the accompanying actions or spells, and everyone but the Speaker dies. But we see Aslan take very great care in creating Narnia, weaving his music with the land and breathing life into it with his song. It's a vicious cycle, even in our world. We destroy things so easily that we don't even think of all the work that goes into its creation. Maybe knowing just how something was created would help us appreciate it more....

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How can I make you see me?
Won't you let me into your heart?
All that I do seems unnoticed,
And I knew that from the start.
But how much longer will I fall,
descending from this height?
Only if you stop being you....
If your light fades into the night.
-- :o) 12132002