The Paradise of Forsaken Pettiness

My favorite novel of all time is The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis, a short story about a group of strangers who embark on an unexpected day trip to Heaven (via flying bus, no less).

They’ve been living in a place Lewis refers to as the “Grey Town” which is an endlessly dismal and dreary spot, chalk-full of bickering unhappy inhabitants. Based on the behavior of these individuals, it doesn't take the reader long to surmise that this starting location is an allegory for Hell.

But what is Hell? Well… Lewis depicts it, first and foremost, as outlandishly petty. For instance, along the way we meet a cynical man who believes anything positive must be a scam. A husband who manipulates his wife into feeling sorry for him. A poet who self-harms because nobody likes his poems. Even figures like Napoleon, restlessly muttering about why he lost the Battle of Waterloo (blaming everyone under the sun except himself, of course).

You get the picture. Every one of these characters subscribes to a pessimistic reality, entailing themselves successfully at the center. In other words, an unrealistic and false reality altogether.

Conversely, Heaven is depicted as so real it hurts. Blades of grass, absurdly solid beneath their feet, prick their skin. Apples growing from trees are too heavy to even lift. Waterfalls are loud enough to sound like a college of giants. And most importantly, unlike the previously described petty characters, the healthy people are depicted as selfless, ones who'll purposefully let something go.

And that is the whole point. C.S. Lewis describes Heaven as giving something up, not as something selfishly gained.

A good exercise for all of us is to think of our pettiness. Think about what version of Grey Town we create for ourselves. We all have one. It’s lodged in our psyche, desperate for sick validation. Get specific. How are you specifically behaving like one of these immature characters? Locate the pettiness. Realize how false and distorted this thinking is. And instead, realize what it is that you need to let go. Perhaps your pride. Or your money. Or your control over your surroundings.

Like the healthy characters in The Great Divorce, this process will hopefully feel so real it hurts. And that means you’re on the right track.