Hi reader! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I have been meaning to start one of these for a while, but I haven't made the time. Since I'm now on winter break and my semester in France is approaching, it seems like the perfect time to start. Once I'm in France, you can read here to stay updated on all my adventures if you wish. This won't simply be a study abroad blog, however. I will post on whatever the heck I feel like. You can expect comments on literature (classic and of various contemporary genres), visual arts, performing arts, religion, Catholicism, theology, fun stuff on the internet, etc. Like I said, whatever I feel like.
I would like to make a note about the title of my blog. When I was thinking about what to call it, I decided on Overworld, which is a term that comes from C.S. Lewis' The Silver Chair, chronologically the sixth Chronicle of Narnia. In that book, the heroes venture deep underground where they have a conversation with the deceptive witch who has dominated the inhabitants of the so-called "Underland" and kept Narnia's prince captive there. The witch tries to put the heroes under an enchantment and convince them that there never was any world other than her Underland, and that they have simply made up what they call "Overworld"-that is, the place where Narnia is and where the sun shines. Well, one of the heroes, Puddleglum, manages to stop the enchantment and say this:
"Suppose we have only dreamed up, or made up all those things...in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones...We're just babies making up a game if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia...we're leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland."
Just so we're clear: Overland=everlasting, spiritual world that we sometimes glimpse here, in Underland=temporal world that will one day pass away. Overland seems a good deal more important to me, so I pursue it and do my best to share it. I am no expert on Overland, so I like to hear the thoughts of others on what is found there. One thing I do know is that Love is the law of the land.
That last sentence in the quote is the only time in the discussion that anyone uses Overland instead of Overworld. I don't think the change is particularly important in the book, but Overland turns out to have a little more meaning for me. It is one half of the name of my hometown, Overland Park. In as much as this is a travel blog, the title pertains to me traveling over land (and sea). So, I'm going with Overland instead of my original thought, Overworld.
Look for some thoughts on Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment in the next post! It's really good so far! Also, please read The Silver Chair in its entirety, and for that matter, any C.S. Lewis work that you can get your hands on.
Bye now!
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