Theos-Talk Archives (June 1996 Message tt00023)

Nicholas Weeks wrote:

> > This sort of meaning is not apparent in the words themselves.
> > Most writers have not this depth of wisdom and experience but
> > reading between the lines gives access to the thoughts they may
> > have been unable to find words to express. Some writers are what
> > I call word-smiths and arrange their words to speak for
> > themselves and there is not much more to be gotten from them.
> > But a good word-smith is a joy to read just for the way the words
> > have been skilfully arranged.
> >
> > I would rather try to educate people to appreciate what an
> > original writer has written than take responsibility of rewriting
> > it to suit lazy minds. So much is lost in doing so unless it is
> > specified loudly that it is a rewritten account and the original
> > should be consulted when the rewrite has been read. Image
> > reading Dickens rewritten in modern English!!!!!!! or the
> > American Classics. They would lose their flavour and their
> > representation of the times in which they were written. I guess
> > that is why we call the Classics.
>
> Huzzah for Bee! Very important points -- especially not
> "rewriting for lazy minds."

Yesterday I watched a video by Joy Mills, in fact it is a set of
6, that was done at the annual Queens Birthday Weekend 3 day
seminars that are held in Auckland. This one was 3 years ago and
I couldn't go that time. The whole 3 days were called Guidelines
for the Spiritual Life and the tape was The Pilgrim Path,
Preparing for the Journey, tape 1.

In it she brought up the concept that the world can be divided
into two sorts, the Tourists and the Pilgrims. She then invited
definitions of each from the audience and some interesting ideas
were presented. Tourists come and look around and want to be
entertained and expect to get their money's worth whereas a
Pilgrim comes to seek a way and is focussed on that. There were
many other examples but at the end she said that we should be
careful not to turn our Lodges into Tourist Attractions in our
zeal to share our wisdom. We need to preserve a place for the
Pilgrim who's road is hard enough as it is. She hit a cord
within me as I have been thinking along the Tourist Attraction
notion to try to increase our membership but now maybe some real
quality stuff for the Pilgrims already within our Lodge may be
wiser and more profitable for us all.

Interesting stuff.
Bee Brown