THE OWL'S EYE

During my weekly flutters around town, I occasionally light upon a windowsill to listen in on conversations. A recent gathering of wise people developed a notion about our modern social media age. Now, the idea was not new. In fact, it had been kicking around for years. It was a nautical story, and from a most unusual source. That source was C.S. Lewis, who wrote about what makes us happy. He used a tale of the sea to make his point. The people who came to hear this sailing story were wise, because they came to listen. Listening is a trait much in absence these days.

Lewis offered this tale. Several ships set sail in convoy. They wanted to go to London from their origin in New York. To get there, they had to sail together in the direction of the great British city, and thus avoid hitting one another. To do that, their ships had to be in good working order. Otherwise, no matter how well navigated, if not properly functioning the ship would perhaps strike another, or flounder due to mechanical failure. No matter how well the convoy sailed, the poorly maintained ship would have to fall out. Worse still, even if the maps led to London and the ship worked like a precisely engineered clock, if the ship did not reach London, but rather some barren port off the coast of South America, then all had failed.

Lewis wanted us to view our lives that way. We had to have a valid goal. We needed to try to make our lives happy and worth living. But, how did his analogy translate? First, consider the ships in convoy. “We are all in this together” is a philosophy seldom praised in America, though required for any successful joint effort. We pride ourselves on being “the Marlboro Man” of history. We are the steely eyed solitary cowboy on the lone prairie, guns ready. He is his own man, and, “Nobody can tell (him) what to do.” Rather than extreme individualism, we need to be aware of our need for one another, said Lewis. Secondly, our ship’s functioning is our own moral compass. What makes me do right? What makes me do wrong? How do I know the difference? In our age of information overload, could there even be a true way to happiness? C.S. Lewis thought so. He thought we could find it from ancient truths, from virtues such as honesty, kindness, humility and justice, which the modern world had often neglected.

So the group discussed the question, “Where is the London we are headed for?” Do we live by known, ancient virtues of right and wrong? The kind that might guide our group to safe shores as they have since time immemorial? Or, do we live by the thrill of the moment, taking life as a daily gamble, an endless choice, or an absurdity? Or what about ourselves? Are we even aware that our own ship might be in danger, where our choices make us slaves to what gives us a momentary thrill, feeds our ego or might lead to a dictator? Do we seek something that energizes or physical life, but doesn’t make us happy? How do we find our “London,” that is, happiness?

Lewis was trying make us see our happiness is linked to others. We can’t function alone, not with any real hope of seeing meaning in our lives. The long-ago idea that virtuous living, being aware not only of avoiding giving pain to others, but being kind, humble, caring for others and being just, is a worthy goal to strive for. Our London arrival can happen every day. We need to see our ships are all connected, and depend on each other; not randomly setting off to unknown parts, alone and afraid. We are a part of life’s convoy; we join by practicing virtues that keep us sailing true. We don’t want to just avoid hitting other ships, hurting other people, we want to see our role in making them, and so ourselves, happy. London becomes so much brighter when we all reach it together.