The Social Animal: The Hidden Sources Of Love, Character, And Achievement by David Brooks
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Children are coached on how to jump through a thousand scholastic hoops. Yet by far the most important decisions they will make are about whom to marry and whom to befriend, what to love and what to despise, and how to control impulses. On these matters, they are almost entirely on their own. We are good at talking about material incentives, but bad about talking about emotions and intuitions. We are good at teaching technical skills, but when it comes to the most important things, like character, we have almost nothing to say.
I appreciate this comment by Brooks in his introduction (xiv). Teaching character, being intentional about teaching character, is a foreign matter in our society today. We are very good at allowing the culture to instruct and inform us (I'm thinking largely of the grip consumerism has on our behaviors as a society) on matters that have deep consequences for how we think and live. We do not do the difficult work of critiquing our culture and learning to behave in ways that counter the more harmful effects of our cultural norms.
This is one of the main objectives of Brooks' work, to demonstrate through fictional narrative that we are indeed largely creatures of habit, living lives of ritual and routine that are often unquestioned and unexamined. We seldom give serious thought to how are social context is serving to shape our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs through our daily behavioral patterns...
View this review, and all of my reviews here
__________
Lent began yesterday...a 40-day preparation period before the celebration of Easter. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten fast, where many people enter the season by participating in an Ash Wednesday service. "Fasting" is also a part of the season's tradition. Some choose to give up certain kinds of food...others will identify something in their life that keeps them from growing closer to God, removing it in hopes of drawing closer to the presence of God.
It's a time of intentional introspection...something that our culture lacks.
I just read an interesting book by David Brooks, called The Social Animal. In it he works to illustrate (through a fictional narrative approach) that we are indeed creatures of habit who move daily through the motions of life, not giving a great deal of thought to who we are, to how we are to relate with others, or to who (or what) we are becoming. It's just too easy to get up each day, and go through the motions once again. In our haste and busy-ness, we lack the opportunity for slowness, introspection and reflection that are required if we are to make significant progress in character development.
Consider his quote that I included at the top of this post. As a society, we are sorely wanting in the intentionality we give to the teaching of character and spirituality. More and more I see that we are leaving the work of character development, and of spiritual discipline, to the power of embedded cultural behaviors. Specifically, we have assigned to the power of our consumerist culture the role of spiritual formation.
The truth is, we become like that which we long for--that which we desire.
Good news, however...The season of Lent forces us to refocus our eyes on the proper object of desire--Christ. It pulls our eyes away from sin, and the desire to satisfy selfish desires (which, incidentally, is the core message that Consumerism speaks to us moment-by-moment). It requires us to practice new rituals, and to discard destructive behaviors. It calls on us to lean on the power of God to transform our character as we long to know him.
I came across a saying from the Desert Father St. Neilos the Ascetic (d. 430) this past week as I was preparing a lesson on the power of Consumerism to shape our life. His insight into my modern world is a little frightening, quite honestly. He instructed his followers to avoid pursuing anything beyond what is required by our "basic needs." He understood that to step beyond these limits, to pursue that which exceeds what is required, leads us to an arena where "no bounds can be set to that which exceeds the necessary."
If I take a moment to stop and think, I have to admit that he is correct. We are constantly pushed to add a little more comfort, and little more ease...just one more "added feature".
My Lenten fast is just this...to only consume, for 40 days, that which is essential to my existence. I'm pretty sure this will be an eye-opening period of time, and that I've gotten myself into more than I bargained for. But that's OK. It's a time to be intentional about reflecting on my daily routine. It's a time to refocus on Christ, as the source of my desire and as the one who has the power to shape my character.
I look forward to sharing my 40 day journey with you and the insights that come as I break with routine, and move forward, each day, in introspection and intentionality.
