1) From the Napoleon of Notting Hill, by G.K. Chesterton:
More often than we would like, things we become attached to, whether it be people, animals, or an object, turn out to be different than we thought, so different that we can no longer look at them the same way. Think about a person that was close to you, a politician you believed in, a pet you loved, or a concept/belief that you held, that upon further inspection turned out to be much different than you thought. Its a terrible feeling (I know from experience) when this realizations hits you, a sort of coldness washes over you and you feel like sitting in a corner (or at least I do) and holding your head in your hands. You want to bang your head against the wall, cry, be comforted, or just be by yourself for a long time (I experience a confusing mixture of all these). It feels terrible. Everyone feels this at some point or another---its part of our humanity. So in this way, old books can be comforting, knowing that people hundreds of years ago felt the same pain, experienced the same disappointment, and struggled through the same problems that you are experiencing at that moment.
2) Also from the Napoleon of Notting Hill:
Again, very relatable to our current world: how often do we let someone rise in power or authority without really examining whether or not they deserve it? How many times has someone been given awards or honors without really earning it? We want those in power, who govern and direct us to be smart people, who make our entire population not only content, but informed and smarter. And yet we award those in power who have done little to this effect. Not exactly comforting to know that people had this problem back in the time of Chesterton, but at least we can say its not something our generation has done on its own.
3) Also from the Napoleon of Notting Hill (Chesterton was a genius, I can't help but include a bunch of his work):
I was going to explain a bit, but instead I think I'll just let this sit here and let you guys think about it quietly.
4) I'm gonna try to lighten this pessimistic mood....hold on while I dig a happy quote out of my pile of quotes:
From the Importance of Being Earnest, a play by Oscar Wilde:
Not completely humorous, but definitely made me chuckle a little to myself when I read it. We put a lot of thought into what people wear, how they do their hair, what car they arrive in, and while that's all great and has some importance, we often don't involve a lot of sincerity or honesty in a lot of our "matters of great importance".....
I'm spent. This week was really hard, what with our school's peculiar circumstances, a busy school week to begin with, and an unclear plan for the following week. Next week I'll be focusing on the beauty of the English language in old literature and poetry---cool words and phrases that make you feel nice inside.
Hope you enjoyed....
Claire
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