Childlike or Childish?

Sometimes I need to be reminded that my stoic rationalism is unholy. Lest I be decieved that my melancholy should be equated with righteousness or realism, I sometimes need an electric shock to my system reminding me that am to become like a child. I was never much of a fiction or fantasy person. I would much rather sit down with a theoretical work. But in my old age (my thirties), I have been gravitating to more stories, and I think it is because I am finding in them much deeper and more lasting truths than in any exposition I could read. Recently, on a long drive from RI to AZ, I was able to "listen" to several good ded peepl. Here they are as my recommendations to you, who struggle, as I do, with stoicism, with taking yourself to seriously, with being too mature. A little something thing to remind you that becoming childlike might also mean becoming a little more childish.

Manalive G.K. Chesterton. I know! It's like a broken record for me, but I think I can safely say that this book in some way has saved my life. I think this one needs to be a yearly read for me.

The Golden Key George MacDonald. A lesson in yearning from the fairy land, where two children find themselves on a quest to find the land "from whence the shadows fall"

The Shadows George MacDonald. You may never look at a shadow the same.

Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass Lewis Carroll. Refresh the wonder of a world seen through a child's eyes.