I had not thought of JSM in quite a while and was delighted to see this post. In 1826-27 he went on with his "usual occupations," he writes, "mechanically, by the mere force of habit," because he "had been so drilled in a certain sort of mental exercise, that I could still carry it on when all the spirit had gone out of it." Then he quotes Coleridge: "hope without an object cannot live." I underlined this when I read JSM as an undergrad in the 60s; I didn't get much in those days, but I got that. Let the spirit life.
Was interesting to hear about JSM via Janice as well not that long ago. Quite an involved person; clearly took life seriously. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts here.
The power of art to merge the inner and outer worlds has been shown to me over the years while reading bedtime stories to my daughter, who's seven now. The art of storytelling has helped her begin to perceive some of these "laws of human nature" and the connectedness between her feelings and thoughts and the life around her that inspires them. Right now, for example, I'm reading her the old Norse myths, and she's found a soulmate in Loki. With some effort she can explain to me that she likes him because she identifies with his enthusiasm for mischief-making. She got excited when I told her that as a kid I'd also fallen for the great trickster god for much the same reason, as have innumerable other kids across the generations. It's as if that revelation about the universal appeal of bad boy Loki has opened a door in her heart between her and her fellow human beings. Thanks to the art of stories we can now have basic conversations about the good and bad in human nature and the feelings and thoughts that join us all to one another and to life in general.
She said the other night that she understands that for Loki it's hard sometimes to be good because it's too much fun being bad. That led to a conversation about how many of us often have inner struggles to be good. Overall I get the sense of her growing awareness that human nature is complicated but worth exploring.
Absolutely! When the time is right, I hope we have a field day with The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. She's familiar with the bible stories and with Isaiah's call to prophesy and his subsequent crying in the wilderness, so it might be fun to let the marriage open a conversation about, say, how the prophet/artist/heretic/anti-vaxxer & etc has been gaslighted down the ages for telling uncomfortable truths!
I had not thought of JSM in quite a while and was delighted to see this post. In 1826-27 he went on with his "usual occupations," he writes, "mechanically, by the mere force of habit," because he "had been so drilled in a certain sort of mental exercise, that I could still carry it on when all the spirit had gone out of it." Then he quotes Coleridge: "hope without an object cannot live." I underlined this when I read JSM as an undergrad in the 60s; I didn't get much in those days, but I got that. Let the spirit life.
Was interesting to hear about JSM via Janice as well not that long ago. Quite an involved person; clearly took life seriously. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts here.
The power of art to merge the inner and outer worlds has been shown to me over the years while reading bedtime stories to my daughter, who's seven now. The art of storytelling has helped her begin to perceive some of these "laws of human nature" and the connectedness between her feelings and thoughts and the life around her that inspires them. Right now, for example, I'm reading her the old Norse myths, and she's found a soulmate in Loki. With some effort she can explain to me that she likes him because she identifies with his enthusiasm for mischief-making. She got excited when I told her that as a kid I'd also fallen for the great trickster god for much the same reason, as have innumerable other kids across the generations. It's as if that revelation about the universal appeal of bad boy Loki has opened a door in her heart between her and her fellow human beings. Thanks to the art of stories we can now have basic conversations about the good and bad in human nature and the feelings and thoughts that join us all to one another and to life in general.
Good to think of children making this connection, something I think I unlearned as I go older.
Me too. But it's been a powerful reminder revisiting these old stories with her, and hearing her make such surprising insights for her age.
Any examples of her insights?
She said the other night that she understands that for Loki it's hard sometimes to be good because it's too much fun being bad. That led to a conversation about how many of us often have inner struggles to be good. Overall I get the sense of her growing awareness that human nature is complicated but worth exploring.
Ahh... she's ready for Blake, then! Wonderful to hear.
Absolutely! When the time is right, I hope we have a field day with The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. She's familiar with the bible stories and with Isaiah's call to prophesy and his subsequent crying in the wilderness, so it might be fun to let the marriage open a conversation about, say, how the prophet/artist/heretic/anti-vaxxer & etc has been gaslighted down the ages for telling uncomfortable truths!