The Inklings

Throughout my life, I have been very much misunderstood and under-appreciated, and have longed to be known by a group of friends and appreciated for who I am, not what I appeared to be. After years of trying, I have given up the idea of having these kind of friends and learned to be content with having one true friend - my wife.

C. S. Lewis didn’t have a spouse until late in his life, and I suppose one of the reasons why he was not anxious to get a wife was that he had a group of kindred-spirited friends. Together they took walks in the woods and had long, spirited conversation in the pubs - far more enjoyable than having a nagging wife who constantly demanded his attention. I often wonder how in the world he managed to find so many like-minded friends in a small circle, yet I have so much trouble even finding one in a big crowd.

That was why I was puzzled by my fellow blog king, who told me that his most recent date’s conversation was way too serious for him to handle. He even blogged on how he disliked serious conversations, and took some measure to avoid having them. It baffles me because I always thought that in order for us to have serious relationships, we must have serious conversations. In fact, if we have any depth in our thinking at all, even our light conversations should have some seriousness to them. I can’t image how much fun the Inklings (C.S. Lewis’ crowd) had when they held their battle of the wits. We can't hardly criticize them for having “serious conversation,” can we?