Guest Blog: Charles Williams (excerpt)

[alanajoli]

There are some fun, original new guest blogs coming up soon, but today, I was drawn back to my collection of the writings of Charles Williams, which I studied for my course on the Inklings in college. I've not read them in some time, and it looks as though I argued quite a bit with Williams in the margins! But his philosophy of co-inherence

Comments

[asakiyume]

The time the baby's in the womb is a lovely time. I love that during that time, just by living, by doing nothing other than eating and sleeping and going about daily business, you are nourishing, sheltering, and growing somebody. It's the ultimate intimacy.

[alanajoli]

The instructor of our "dancing through pregnancy" class runs us through a meditation focused on our breathing, and she always reminds us that we are breathing for ourselves and for our baby. The first time she said that, I almost cried, the image was so strong. :)

[sartorias]

I really need to reread Williams. I tried too young, then didn't for far too many decades.

[alanajoli]

I have to admit, I've enjoyed his fiction more than his nonfiction -- which I didn't remember, as it's been years since I've tried his straight philosophical texts. The novels are fresher in my mind, and remain enhanced by the classroom discussion. Then again, much of the philosophy we read in excerpts, and I suspect it would be better if it were read in its whole context. (I felt that way about Barfield -- I was confused by the excerpts from our Barfield Reader, and all became clearer when I read Saving the Appearances as a whole.)