I heard it from an old man with 40 years of sobriety who took his relationship with God very seriously, so I'm 100% sure he believed it to be true. But of course, stories told at a distance have a tendency to mutate, so the details may be embellished. But I'm reasonably certain that something very like it really did happen, which is enough to make me smile every time I think about it. :)
I don't know if you're familiar with Scott Peck and his writing (The Road Less Traveled, People of the Lie) but he and his writing and thinking have been very formative in my life. Anyway, in one of his books, I think it was People of the Lie, he talks about the significance of individual decisions being much, much greater than most people ever think--he has some stories of his work in psychotherapy that stress that. And I believe it. And I believe that this story is true in the ultimate sense whether or not all the details are completely accurate.
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which,if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”
Just wow. Thank you. Even if this story is apocryphal I will remember and cherish it.
I heard it from an old man with 40 years of sobriety who took his relationship with God very seriously, so I'm 100% sure he believed it to be true. But of course, stories told at a distance have a tendency to mutate, so the details may be embellished. But I'm reasonably certain that something very like it really did happen, which is enough to make me smile every time I think about it. :)
I don't know if you're familiar with Scott Peck and his writing (The Road Less Traveled, People of the Lie) but he and his writing and thinking have been very formative in my life. Anyway, in one of his books, I think it was People of the Lie, he talks about the significance of individual decisions being much, much greater than most people ever think--he has some stories of his work in psychotherapy that stress that. And I believe it. And I believe that this story is true in the ultimate sense whether or not all the details are completely accurate.
From C. S. Lewis' "The Weight of Glory"
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which,if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”
Love this! C S Lewis is a treasure.
Thanks, Holly. That story is a real upper and thought provoker.🙏
Good work on the loan repayment. Nice to get rid of the ball & chain, and great story.