Redtree Times

Skip the Light Fandango–At Principle Gallery

There are always plenty of rivals to our work. We are always falling in love or quarreling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions may never come.

–C.S. Lewis, Learning in War-Time, Oxford sermon (1939)

At the outbreak of World War II in Europe, in October of 1939, C.S. Lewis delivered a sermon at St. Mary the Virgin at Oxford, England. There had been a question at that chaotic time if university education, as well as a number of other normal activities, should be suspended to focus on fighting the war.

Speaking to the Oxford students, Lewis suggested that it was important that their education and normal activities of so many others should not be set aside. He argued that maintaining their education and the everyday work of others was vital to the future of the nation, mankind, and each individual’s eternal soul.

He pointed out that our time here is limited and our meaning and purpose here is based on the limits of that time. War, despite its awful and perilous nature, is a temporary distraction from our greater goals.

Lewis said that the time devoted to our greater goals, which he described as being in the service or as an offering to God, were not only acceptable, but necessary, for our spiritual survival.

He warned the students of the three enemies that distract us from fulfilling our given tasks in our time here. Number one was the excitement of the life events of life that pull at our attention and time, occupying our every thought. Number two was the frustration that comes with the realization that we might not have enough time to finish our given tasks. Third was that old favorite fear that we will fail to achieve our given tasks, that we will let down our own expectations as well as those of our family, friends, nation, and God.

I, of course, am paraphrasing Lewis’ words and most likely distorting much of the meaning in them. And while I don’t come at this from a theological point of view, Lewis’ words speak to my current situation.

I understand the excitement, frustration, and fear of which he warns. The past few months have been occupied by all three, resulting in the creative paralysis I have described here in recent posts.

I describe it as a logjam.

My great-grandfather was a pioneer of the early Adirondack logging industry and in reading about the annual river dives in those days before trucking and railroad access were available. They floated their annual crop of logs down the swollen rivers each spring. The words excitement, frustration and fear, certainly apply to these drives. It was wild ride– excitement!— and often the logs would jam at points in the journey– frustration!— causing the log drivers to have to make risky moves or even resort to dynamite– fear!— in order to break up the logjams.

I am in one of those logjams at the moment.

It sometimes feels like the logs are shifting and might break free on their own and I’ll be floating free on that river once more. But every day finds that another log has come along to jam my path forward again.

Reading Lewis’ words reminds me of lessons that I already know, from my own experience and the experience and words of other artists; that one must set aside the distractions of the moment and focus on getting to one’s real work, that which gives your life meaning and purpose.

Work begets work. Work begets inspiration. Inspiration begets more work.

The perpetual engine of creativity.

My hope is that just being reminded of this simple truth and writing of it this morning is a small charge of dynamite, enough to break up the logjam in my mind and get me back to work. At least back to work enough to free me from those three enemies for a bit.

We will see. Hopefully sooner than later.