Tim Weidlich column: The Hope of Life

“For me, reason is the natural organ of truth; but imagination is the organ of meaning.”

One of the greatest losses from stress or grief is the loss of imagination. C.S. Lewis began writing about belief and reason but turned his focus in his later life to writing science fiction. In that genre he could imagine what belief might look like, imagination was for Lewis the expression of hope.

Last fall I felt a growing weariness of my soul and body. I felt little enthusiasm for anything and just longed to get away. I rented a forest service fire tower in the Swan Valley and as I drove away from home toward the Mission Mountains, I felt the stress falling from my shoulders. I drove through the forest, up the mountain on the southern end of Swan Lake and arrived at the summit of the forest-covered mountain.

To get to the cabin at the top of the tower I had to climb another 40 feet above the trees. As I climbed the stairs, I remembered that I have a fear of heights, so, for some reason, I looked down the stairs and felt fear in leaving the safety of solid ground. “It might

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