Reading from Selador: The Book of Time Ch. 11

Welcome to another reading from my book, Selador: The Book of Time.

I hope you are getting excited for the next book in the story, because it is a story deeply rooted in imaginative exploration of goodness and truth. Much of my spare time these days is diving into the realm of Selador to see what is going on there. Really, I just poke my head into the realm to see what all the characters are up to, and I write down their stories. 

Stay tuned next week as I reveal the title of the second book! Any guesses?

So, here is another short reading from the first book of Selador. 

If you would like to purchase Selador: The Book of Time on Amazon, here's the link!

Muddy Musings · Reading from Selador, The Book of Time Ch. 11

Philosopher of the Heart

 

I came to understand myself by writing.

- Søren Kierkegaard

I enjoyed reading this biography so much, and the way it was written added a layer of enjoyment. It was not written in the style or format of a traditional biography, which to me can sometimes become trite as the author sometimes feels they need to document every tiny thing. This book was written in a beautiful fluidity which brought us into the mind of Kierkegaard and his thoughts and struggles, using some journal entries and documentation of his behavior as he lived in Copenhagen. We walked with him as he enjoyed his regular long walks around his city. We sat with him at his desk where he hashed out his thoughts, sometimes coming into his house from a walk directly to his desk still in coat and hat to write thoughts down immediately lest they be lost. We rode the train with him as he traveled back from Germany after studying. We gain an outside perspective of him as well as his reaction to various outside perceptions. 

The author Clare Carlisle wrote that "confusion is a fertile soil in which wisdom might grow." This very accurately describes Kierkegaard's approach to his deep thinking. He observed what was going on in his time in his city and country, and he responded to the worldly confusion on how to be a true Christian in the only way he knew how - by writing out pages and pages in his journal, exploring themes he had studied in the known philosophers (like Socrates or Hegel) and then spent much of his time publishing books of discourses addressing what he sees happening in society. 

He was interested in thinking about how to be a true Christian in a society that was "Christian", mixing church and state in which everyone was deemed a Christian as they were a citizen. He was distressed by the complacent, comforting messages that he heard from the Bishop's pulpit. This concerned him, as he believed you cannot be a true Christian without going through the suffering of life, not just coating it with sugar saying that it will be better in days ahead. That doesn't help you grow in wisdom, but causes you to embrace worldly ways. Kierkegaard believed that modern Christianity was leaning too close to worldliness, so he tried to counter this by leaning further in the opposite direction.

Along those lines, Kierkegaard was seeking to be at peace within himself, rather than in those worldly things. He wrote in his journal "..how sad it would be if human beings could only find peace in what lay outside themselves." His words and thoughts sometimes feel trenchant as they cut into the heart of our comforts, and they are still so applicable to our society today. Do we ask the tough questions today or do we just want to zone out with the pleasures of worldly indulgences? Kierkegaard challenges us to seek true divine wisdom as we look more deeply within ourselves to see what path we are going to choose everyday. 

The author writes "In drawing this contrast between divine wisdom and the false wisdom of the world, Paul argues that serving God and pursuing worldly things - including esteem, success, status - are two diverging paths through life: an either/or." This is exactly what Kierkegaard explores.

How I Read a lot of Books

Within in its depths, this light, I saw, contained,

bound up and gathered in a single book,

the leaves that scatter through the universe.

- Dante

If you talk to me for more than a few minutes you will likely get me to talk about what book or books I am reading or what topic I have been pondering and researching through books. Whilst I explain the story or the topics, I hear so often from others that they wish they read more, and just cannot find the time. They comment that they get bored and fall asleep. Or they cannot focus. 

The importance and benefits of reading spans countless reasons that would go way beyond this tiny post. I could go on for days about how reading good books is the best use of time and how I never regret reading. Reading stretches our imaginations, puts our brains to work in the best and most beneficial ways, and allows us to see through other eyes to learn and grow.

I read 62 books last year, and it was not because I am some great reader or because I have a ton of spare time. On the contrary, actually. I attribute it to the following: 

Making reading a priority - When I talk to people about reading more, I usually ask about if they set a time each day for reading, and they always say no. Most often they leave it for the end of the day, right before bed when they are most tired, and they end up falling asleep. So I ask - if there is something important to you in your life, don't you set aside time to be sure that you give appropriate time to it, to allow it to grow and flourish? My weekends are fully booked. I read for hours, not just a few minutes. Every evening I read. If I get too tired as it gets late and cannot concentrate, then I put the book aside. The book I read at night is not one of my more difficult academic-type books. It is the Dorothy L. Sayers murder mystery that is much lighter reading.

Reading what I enjoy and am passionate about - Don't read books that bore you or are on topics that do not interest you. But do read good books. Read meaningfully and deeply. Read books that have stood the test of time in between newer books. As C.S. Lewis recommended, read a classic in between new, modern books to refresh your perspective. Discover what you are passionate about and read read read. The wonderful thing about reading is the more you read, the more you discover there is to read. One book leads to another, and another. If you love nature, read some books about gardens or trails or different aspects of nature. I've been reading many books recently by John Lewis-Stempel, who writes beautiful prose on woods, trees, and animals in the UK.  

Putting aside distractions - This is one of the biggest hurdles in keeping up with reading and staying focused. All the distractions in our lives steal time from us. Something that gives me control over that is coming to the conclusion that I am in control of those distractions. I can put my phone in the other room and ignore it. I can put my laptop away. I do not watch TV at all, but one could turn it off and leave it off. Whatever else is distracting in your life, find a way to turn it off, or set it aside for the time that you are reading. It's about the conscious effort. It is fully within our power as a choice.

Hopefully something here will help invigorate you if you are one who would like to read more, but cannot seem to find the time. The great consequence of reading is - Once you read more, you will want to read more, and that is a wonder-filled trend to get on. 

Visits with Kierkegaard

Oh, if men would rightly understand what a beautiful use they could make of their imagination, their acuteness, their ingenuity, their ability to co-ordinate by using it in every possible way to discover an extenuating explanation: then would they increasingly taste one of the most beautiful joys in life; it could become to them a passionate pleasure and need, which would cause them to forget everything else.

- Søren Kierkegaard

Once upon a time, many years ago, in high school and in college, I frequented the Selby Library in Sarasota, mostly to browse the excellent bookshop inside, which sells books at a very affordable price. At some point along the way, I came across this lovely hardback book, A Kierkegaard Anthology. It was $1. At that point, I had only heard of Søren Kierkegaard vaguely somehow, I did not even know. I thought he was a Christian, perhaps, but I did not know much beyond that. But I bought the book.

I thank my younger self for such clairvoyance to buy it. I realize now how providential that casual purchase was. I soon read through many of the selections in this anthology, mystified by the deep theological thoughts that were way over my head, and yet I was drawn to them because I understood something in them. Maybe it was only a few tiny things I understood, but I kept reading, and became an admirer of Kierkegaard's writings.

I have never taken a class in philosophy. So here was my first taste of it with Kierkegaard, and through him Socrates and Hegel. I did not understand all I read. I was confused by the "other authors" of his discourses, which I now know were his way of expressing various opinions and views of a topic at hand without putting his own name to it. Many books he published did not have his name attached for this reason. 

He was a Danish Christian (he lived 1813 - 1855) who saw issues in the Christian society of the Danish life, wondering how one could be a true Christian in a society where everyone was a "Christian". In his case, church and state were one in the same. One had to be baptized in order to become a Danish citizen. He believed that to be a true Christian meant to suffer and go through difficulty and come out the other side, after all, Jesus goes before us in all our suffering. He believed the sermons being preached at his church in Copenhagen were too comforting and watered down, leading everyone in society to be complacent in their Christianity. Sound somewhat familiar? Isn't our society running along the same lines?

I always find myself coming back to visit Kierkegaard every now and then. Something I read will remind me of something he wrote and I will visit with him again. I have so often revisited the wonderful anthology, or some of his other books. His Works of Love captivated my idea of what it means to love others. And a new biography, Philosopher of the Heart, is absolutely engaging and beautifully written. I am reading it now, and enjoying it so very much. Not only am I learning much about the Danish Christian world, but also much more deeply into why he wrote what he did, and what inspired him. I will leave that for another post.

We are all so much more apt to think about discovering evil than about discovering good. - SK

A Reading from...Selador

As I work on writing the second volume of Selador, I thought it would be fun to revisit the first book, Selador: The Book of Time. If you have read it, I hope that it filled some hours with enjoyable escape to another realm with Nella and her friends in the village of Selador. 

In the second book, the story continues with Nella. Find out what happens next (I'll be vague so I do not spoil anything from the first book). Nella must come to terms with the power she wields as an entry-writer in The Book of Time, and the consequences of that power that she never wanted. Her friendships deepen with Master Nolan, Lady Kira, and Lady Cora. But a threat now comes from the city of Stros.

If you would like to purchase Selador: The Book of Time on Amazon, here's the link!

Stay tuned for more updates on the second book (including the title!). I have been striving to use my time at home productively by getting a lot of writing done. That is a joyful thing, to me, and I hope that you will agree when you read this book I have been working on. I say "work", but truly it is a joy to write this story, as it explores some deep truths that I am passionate about exploring. Things that I enjoy discovering by way of other writers. I find that what you read is what you think. 

I will post some sneak peaks at the new book as I continue to work on it, but until then, here is a short reading from Selador: The Book of Time, just for fun.

Muddy Musings · Reading from Selador, The Book of Time

Little Black Penguins

The light of truth that feeds them with its peace will never let their feet be turned away.
- Dante

I started collecting a few of these mini-sized Penguin Classics a few years ago when I saw them for the first time whilst book shopping in England. I forget exactly where I first saw them, probably in Oxford where I tend to do most of my book shopping. These little books are a great way to get a taste of an author, as they publish either a collection of poems for a poet, some short stories, or snippets from lesser known works by an author. The Dostoyevsky, for example, White Nights, is a lesser known shorter story from the great writer, and I enjoyed reading this very early work of his.

The little Penguins are a great way to explore different authors, or re-visit some favourites, and get a diverse reading experience. I do not think I would have ever known or read The Book of Tea, but I enjoyed that one a lot (as a lover of tea), and some authors I am curious about but have not read before are available here in little books, which fit perfectly in any bag by the way.

The Dante book I recently received, and on the front is my favourite quote from The Divine Comedy, from the last book, Paradiso, and the book itself has a collection of Cantos from the final book in the series, which was enjoyable to read, as it is a different translation from what I have read by Dorothy L. Sayers.

Wishing you happy explorations as you find new books to read, or seek out authors you have not read, to deepen your knowledge, appreciate seeing the world through other's eyes, and letting your imagination run.