“It wasn’t a subject to Plato, it was a way.”

C.S. Lewis received this gentle reprimand when wrestling with faith in a purely intellectual way. He’s read every book and debated every rationale, when two of his own students – somewhat ironically – reminded him that thought and study would only get him so far.

(Of course one of these students was Bede Griffiths, who was a Benedictine monk and later a noted yogi, so perhaps Lewis was fortunate to be surrounded by a particular kind of wisdom just when he was contemplating that particular kind of question.)

Friends, this is so often true, especially when the issue is a real mystery. We want to research and analyze and debate until we reach some sense of rightness. But we aren’t only computers with legs – we can also feel and hope and imagine and love and be and do.

Dear ones, if we are stuck with one of life’s big riddles today, it’s fine to bust out our favorite philosophers or databases or experts, and they can all add plenty to our knowledge.

But then, let’s quiet our cleverness.

Let’s go for a walk, or pet a dog, or sit with a cup of tea and no screens before us.

Let’s learn what we already know.