STL 12-15

In chapter 12 Screwtape writes about a patient who said they spent their life on things the shouldn't have, and didn't enjoy either. It is amazing how easy it is to fall into this place where misery and failure go so hand in hand. There is often a lot of focus on certain fun things being bad ideas, but perhaps more focus needs to be put on bad things that cause the same types of damage. In chapter 13 Screwtape progresses to the types of things that the nephew should try and rid from the patient's life. They are such things as reading and stamp collecting. Much emphasis is often put on how such things can be bad, but it is also interesting to think about how necessary it is in life to have interests, and how they can be geared towards things that don't hurt faith. Chapter 15 wraps up nicely how these two ideas go wrong. When addressing WWII, Screwtape brings up how the patient should have either "tortured fear" or "blind confidence." Either one of these states of mind are doomed to bring about problems when circumstances get tough. Realistic optimism is a better option, but also much harder to achieve. However, we are talking about the difference between a more optimistic life and a life that is terrible all around. Realistic optimism maximizes the ability to get the most out of the stamp collecting, reading, and such. The alternative is to become overly judgmental or just plain scared of everything. Parts of life that are not religious in nature are fair game in the struggle for religious success, and should not be forgotten or taken in a manner that only leads to more problems.