Summary

The web content presents a reflection on profound life lessons drawn from C.S. Lewis's insights on human nature, morality, friendship, and the pursuit of truth, emphasizing personal growth and the importance of meaningful relationships.

Abstract

The article delves into four thought-provoking quotes by C.S. Lewis, suggesting that an individual's understanding of their own moral compass can be transformed by attempting to do good, acknowledging the inherent flaws in human nature. It underscores the necessity of upholding moral values in a society that often dismisses them, drawing a parallel between moral decay and the erosion of personal and social integrity. The piece further explores the enriching nature of friendship as a source of life's meaning and longevity, referencing studies that correlate quality social relationships with well-being. Lastly, it touches on the importance of seeking truth over comfort, advocating for a life lived in harmony with one's values and timing, to avoid the pitfalls of regret and dissonance.

Opinions

The author posits that humans tend to underestimate their capacity for wrongdoing until they strive for goodness, at which point self-justification often occurs.
There is a critical view of contemporary society's relaxed attitude towards moral principles, suggesting that this neglect leads to betrayal and a lack of honor.
The article promotes the idea that while longevity is not the sole aim, quality friendships significantly enhance one's quality of life, drawing from research and personal anecdotes.
C.S. Lewis is quoted to convey that the pursuit of truth, despite being challenging, ultimately brings comfort, whereas seeking comfort alone leads to a lack of both truth and comfort.
The text encourages readers to embrace the rhythm of life to avoid the pain of missed opportunities and to live with purpose and timing, ensuring a harmonious existence.
The author advocates for subscribing to Medium through their affiliate link to support content creation and to encourage a year of empowered living.

Four Disturbing Quotes From CS Lewis (That if You Read Them) Will Change Your Life

1- No human being knows how bad he is until he tries to be good.

If you haven’t read Narnia, you haven’t had a childhood :-)

His author CS Lewis sold millions of copies, and his books were translated into 30 different languages.

C.S. Lewis was a friend of JRR Tolkien.

The two coincided at Oxford University. And together with other writers, they formed a club of friends called Inklings.

The club members met in a pub just in the decade when Lewis published Narnia and Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.

Lewis and Tolkien lived through many things until they marched to the great war.

The war took away their innocence at once, as most of their friends died in it.

But not everything is sad in this story since the knowledge that both authors acquired about the human reality in the war was printed in their books.

That’s why I’ve compiled four of Lewis’ best thoughts to affect your life positively, and even if you lose a bit of innocence when reading them, they will help you move forward.

So imagine we’re in that Oxford pub, which by the way was called The Eagle and Child, and we’re going to talk about life with one of the most brilliant authors of the 20th century.

Let’s go

On evil

“No human being knows how bad he is until he tries to be good. “— C.S. Lewis.

We all think we are good until we try to do the right thing: that’s when we self-justify.

We have all been the bad guy in someone’s life. What happens is that we go through life so lacking in empathy that we forget.

When we look back and see our mistakes, we often feel shame and regret because we are no longer the person we used to be.

And that’s okay because that means that we are not proud of what we did and therefore today we would not make the same mistake.

On morality

“We laugh at honor and then we are surprised to live surrounded by traitors. “— C.S. Lewis.

Nowadays, nobody has strict moral values: having them is out of fashion. The problem is not listening to trap or spending the day visiting pornography websites; the problem is that every crumbling wall starts with a small crack.

I will give you a personal example,

My mother used to tell me not to smoke, that you start with a cigarette and end up buying a pack every day.

I didn’t listen to her and ended up smoking two packs of Lucky Strike for 15 years. And that almost killed me. And it all started with a cigarette: it all started with a small crack.

Values are important, and not only do we have to have them, but above all, we have to surround ourselves with people who have them.

Let me know who you hang out with, and I’ll tell you who you are.

And if you hang out with people who “only” want to have fun, don’t be surprised if they are unfaithful or betray you.

Raise your social standards, and hang out with people who add, not subtract.

And if one day you don’t know if something you are about to do is right or wrong, remember the phrase of Marcus Aurelius,

“What is not suitable for the hive is not good for the bee.”

On Friendship

“Friendship does not have survival value but gives survival value.” — C.S. Lewis.

Although Robert Waldinger has shown that having good friends extends your life, through the famous Harvard study begun in 1938, longevity is not the essential thing in life.

Answer me this question,

Do you prefer quality or quantity?

You have to balance between the two, but quality matters.

According to the study of more than 1300 people, Dr. Waldinger has shown that people with satisfying social relationships not only live longer but also have other benefits,

They sleep better.
They are happier.
They control stress better.
They delay mental deterioration.
And they keep their memory much longer.

In short, they have a better quality of life, and that is the same thing that C.S. Lewis tells us, friendship is not only a matter of convenience but of meaning: friendship gives sense to life.

That’s why I advise you to stop behaving like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons and start cultivating quality social relationships as soon as possible :-)

The quality of your life depends on it.

On the meaning of life

“If you seek truth, you will find comfort in the end. If you seek comfort you will find neither truth nor comfort. “— C.S. Lewis.

There is a phrase that my grandfather kept repeating to me as a child,

“When you do the right thing at the wrong time, all you get is pain.”

Think about it,

When you decide to ask out that person you like, she may turn you down because she is dating someone else.
When you decide to start that business, maybe the opportunity is gone
It may be too late when you decide to call your father, mother, ex, and friend and ask for forgiveness. Possibly by the time you want to make peace with someone, that someone will be dead.

Best-selling author TD Jakes says it’s all about rhythm.

It’s all about flow like a good song.

That’s how you should live your life: without missing a beat. Because when you lose the rhythm of the melody of your life, life starts to sound bad.

Find your rhythm and dance down the rain, my friend :-)

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