Tolstoy, Beethoven, and Why I Write about What I Read

I think I’ve read Tolstoy's “The Kreutzer Sonata” before, but I have only the vaguest memory of the arc of the story. In fact, I’m about halfway through a second reading, and I’m amazed and ashamed at how little it resonates with me at all. I’ve been at it for a few days, and still haven’t gotten to the part of the story that I would have described a week ago if I’d been called upon to describe the story. A week ago, I would have summarized the story by saying that a married man gets jealous when his wife plays Beethoven’s Kreutzer Sonata (a piece for violin and piano) with someone else, and that the man’s jealousy is unfounded.

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate…” John 14:15-21

The Lectionary text for this past week was from Jesus’ last, long conversation with his disciples, as recorded in John. If you’re reading along in a red-letter version, John nearly runs out of red ink in Chapters 14-17, where we have the longest speech of Jesus recorded in the Gospels.

The emphasis on the Paraclete, translated as Advocate in the New Revised Standard Version that I prefer, brought me back to my confirmation class days. I was raised in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church, but moved to a Baptist church when I married. It’s interesting to me how the two traditions differ in their approach to the Trinity.

In my formative years spent among the Lutherans, we made more of an emphasis on the concept of the Trinity. This is not to say that the Baptists ignore the idea, but the Lutherans felt compelled to articulate the distinctions between the Persons of the Trinity, and identify the work that each of the parts of the Godhead performed or performs.

Tilting at Windmills: My Quixotic Quest

Several years ago, never mind how many, I came across an academic who claimed that Don Quixote was one of the few works that really stood up to multiple readings throughout life. In fact, the scholar claimed that Don Quixote required multiple readings. Specifically, he recommended that everyone read Don Quixote at least three times, once as a young adult, once in middle age, and once in old age.

I’ve thought a lot about this recommendation in the intervening years. In fact, the idea of books that warrant and reward multiple readings has shaped the way I think about literature, and I’ve created my own short list of books that could reward multiple readings every twenty years or so. I’ve identified six works that I found especially meaningful and rewarding when I first read them in my twenties. Those six are the Bible, “Oedipus Rex”, “King Lear”, Don Quixote, Moby Dick, and The Brothers Karamazov. Now, as I approach the end of my forties, I find myself revisiting that list, and rereading works that I read in my twenties. I have a couple of years left in my 40’s, and a couple more works to finish: Don Quixote and The Brothers Karamazov.

So, for the next several weeks, I’ll be spending time with Don Quixote, as part of my Quixotic quest to revisit some rewarding literature, and to live like literature can have an impact on one’s life.

Meditation 101: 1 Book, 1 App, and Listening to Myself Breathe

I have a friend who has been talking to me about meditation for several years now. He’s a practicing Buddhist, and leads a meditation session every week at a local Buddhist center. I have attended several times, though not regularly enough to have seen any benefits from the practice of meditation. He leads a meditation service that is also a religious service, and I have sometimes felt awkward, not really knowing how fully to participate. I’ve felt that there could be some benefit to regular meditation, but I don’t know how, or whether, to participate during the prayers which are offered before and after each twenty minute meditation period. I also know myself well enough to realize that I don’t have the fortitude to press ahead with the practice of meditation alone, without some kind of direction.

That has been the state of things for several years. I might attend a meditation service three or four times a year, and come away with the same questions and hesitations about the practice, at the same time seeing that it could be a very fruitful, centering experience.

Chocolate and Meditation

You know those times in your life, when you encounter some new word or idea, and then you just can’t seem to escape it? Me too.

A couple of years ago, I added the book Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World, by Mark Williams and Danny Penman to my reading list. I don’t even remember how I encountered it initially. (It was probably NPR, but I don’t see any reference to the book on their website. Science Friday, perhaps? Anyway…)

So, the title has been sitting on my list for a couple of years, and I finally decided that it was time to check it out. There’s been a convergence of the subject of meditation popping up in my life, and this seemed like an appropriate book to use to help get myself more grounded.

Beautiful Dystopia: The Giver, by Lois Lowry

I read The Giver, by Lois Lowry sometime back in the 90’s, and again just this week, and my perception and appreciation of the book have definitely changed. Perhaps it’s just age, and experience. Sometimes I feel like I’ve lived most of my life in a fog. I wish I’d kept notes about my initial reaction to the book. What kept me from enjoying it last time the way that I did this time? If I wasn’t old enough to really appreciate it in the 90’s, how can young adults appreciate it? I’m sure there are plenty of thoughtful, sensitive young adults who can appreciate a book like The Giver, but I apparently wasn’t one of them.

The Redemption of Sara Louise Bradshaw: Jacob Have I Loved, by Katherine Paterson

At this time of the year, I often find myself drawn to children’s books, or young adult books, probably for multiple reasons. I often feel that I have challenged myself in the books I’ve read during the rest of the year, and I’m looking for something a little less demanding. Perhaps in the chaos of the holiday season, I need something short and simple. There’s another reason I gravitate toward Newbery Award winners when the weather turns cold, to be honest. I’m also looking for books that I can read quickly, so I can boost the number of books that I’ve read during the year.