Setting out...

Whenever I read one of my favorite books, (in which the naive protagonist is inevitably lured into some elaborate scheme which he or she rarely understands) I experience a sensation that's quite complex. It's as if intense struggle and a thrilling high of excitement has somehow been measured out and spoon-fed to me in tablespoons labeled "Safe".
On the one hand, I am able to view the situation from the character's perspective. All readers understand how amazing this truly is. Think about all that can be experienced: knowledge, beauty, mystery, unknown lands, epic battles, peace, anger, war, love, survival, death...the list goes on.
But more than all of that, reading is about adventure. What makes a book great is the whole story: beginning, conflict, resolution. It is interesting to me that for so much pleasure to be derived from a story, we need to experience conflict- a kink in the normal way of things that won't fix itself. There's some part of us that needs to work things out. There's some part of us that yearns for discomfort. What would Alice's Adventure in Wonderland be without the rabbit hole? I suppose that "Frodo's Perfectly Normal Daily Journal of Shire Happenings" might be an interesting read for some (I would probably give it a go), but it's prospects as a timeless classic seem dim.
In reading, this excitement and conflict is coupled with the knowledge that-somewhere beyond the veil of "Willing Supspension of Disbelief"-we can choose to unplug ourselves from the discomfort. We can, but aren't obligated, to battle things out in Wonderland or Middle Earth. We can go make some coffee. Walk the dog. Dance around like a lunatic to "The Killers". Deal with our own, seemingly miniscule problems and feel grateful that the fate of the world doesn't rest in our hands. We can return to our perfectly safe lives and come back to the danger some other time, later.
But what if by pretending there is no danger or adventure or magic in our lives, we are jepordizing ourselves in ways we cannot even begin to imagine?
One of my favorite C.S. Lewis quotes comes from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. In it, Mr. Beaver is explaining Aslan to Lucy. He says of him "He is not safe, but he is good. He is the King." And He is good. He is very, very good.
See, I have this theory. I think we're on this journey, all of us. And none of us know where we're going. We're just these naive protagonists involved in this elaborate scheme that we really don't and probably could never understand. We have no control over the final destination. But as any well-crafted protagonists (and we are well-crafted) we are meant for one AMAZING, beautiful, mysterious, heart-breaking, love-filled, terrifying journey. And our Author, much like Aslan, isn't safe-not safe at all. But He is very good.
From someone with very limited life-experience, and who is now staring at 15 billion beloved books (only a slight exaggeration) which are threating to attack her from all corners of her room......opportunities for real adventures should not be turned down. Not even in favor of literary ones.
Shall we make a pact to be proper naive protagonists then? To choose what is good, even if it's not safe? ~For Narnia? For Aslan? (irresistible nerd-moment)~
Tomorrow, I'm going across the pond to begin my brief adventure at Oxford University. I've never travelled before at all, let alone by myself. I've NEVER done anything like this. Period. It may not seem like that big of a deal, but I'm SO excited. I'm also a little scared. I haven't read the story and I have no idea how it's going to turn out. I know it will be wonderful and new and challenging and uncomfortable. And I very highly suspect that even though (more likely because) it will not be comfortable...... it will be good.