something beyond ourself.

i love how eugene peterson says this:

“[Imagination] catapults us into mystery. Imagination seems to be the thing least valued in our present culture. There is a lot of attention given to fantasy, but the difference between fantasy and imagination is that in fantasy, the story has us at the center of it, indulging us. Imagination takes us beyond ourselves. There’s not enough of that happening today... Throughout civilization we have lived by stories. Stories draw us into worlds bigger than ourselves. They help us live. Wallace Stegner says that we live by forms and patterns, and if the patterns are wrong, we live badly. Good stories—good fiction, in particular—provide us with good patterns. Every time someone tells a story well, the Gospel is served. Stories invite us to participate, to identify with the characters, to get caught up in the emotion of them.”