I recently read and enjoyed Galen Strawson’s new book, Things That Bother Me. The chapter called “The Unstoried Life” was so persuasive to me that I wish I had read it before I wrote Psychedelic Christianity, because there is one sentence in it that I would like to take back and change. This reminds me of Jorge Luis Borges saying that his father had given him one piece of advice about pursuing a literary career: Don’t rush into print.
Here is the original sentence (p 58):
“No matter what one’s profession or calling, everyone’s greatest work of art is the story of his or her life, told by living it.”
And this is how I would now rewrite it:
”No matter what one’s profession or calling, everyone’s greatest work of art is the living of his or her life, moment by moment, even though most of those moments are quickly forgotten as they flow into new ones.”
And I would add the following sentence at the end:
”That is more important than any object one creates and leaves behind.”
This is what shines like gold in the light of the ultimate goal.
While I’m at it, I wonder if anyone has noticed that Schelling is misspelled as “Schilling” near the bottom of p. 21.