It has been several years since I read through G. K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy on a summer vacation. Much of it has been forgotten (not to mention the parts that went over my head to begin with), but I don’t think I’ll ever forget his lively description of repetition in nature. As a mom, I am frequently reminded of his reflections as I see my little girl revel in the same routines, the same foods, and the same games day after day.
In a delightful chapter called “The Ethics of Elfland,” Chesterton contrasts two explanations we may accept for the natural world: scientific fatalism vs. the philosophy of fairyland. As the chapter title hints, Chesterton is partial to the latter. He describes how modern minds interpret the monotonous repetition of nature:
“It is supposed that if a thing goes on repeating itself it is probably dead; a piece of clockwork. People feel that if the universe was personal it would vary; if the sun were alive it would dance. This is a fallacy even in relation to known fact. For the variation in human affairs is generally brought into them, not by life, but by death; by the dying down or breaking off of strength or desire.”
Chesterton follows this claim with the example of an adult getting into a bus when tired of walking or getting up to walk when tired of sitting. He contrasts this with the “abounding vitality” of children, who are always asking for the same things to be done again. Grown-ups are too weak to exult in this kind of monotony, Chesterton argues. Then he makes these fascinating suppositions about God, which reveal a more enchanted explanation for the repetition in nature:
“But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never gotten tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.”
When I read Chesterton, it gives me a deeper respect for how my daughter experiences the world. Out of all the books on her shelf, why does she want to hear the same one read aloud three or four times in a row? Out of all the blocks in her bucket, why does she choose one rectangular green block to play with for minutes on end? Why is she content to sleep with the same lovey every night while all the other stuffed animals remain unmoved on the shelf? Perhaps it is not wisdom that leads me to seek more variety and novelty than she desires. Maybe it is my wearing down, my lack of life. Boredom does not propel my daughter into a never-ending search for bigger and better things. She is content with the simple repetitions of life.
I love Chesterton’s picture of God exulting in His direction of the sun and moon and His creation of each daisy. Isaiah offers a similar image: “Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name, by the greatness of his might, and because he is strong in power not one is missing” (40:26). And Christ taught us that our Father “clothes the grass of the field” (Matt. 6:30).
Our own creativity so often flows out of a desire for something new and different that we can come to expect God’s creation also to reflect a love of novelty. But God creates out of fullness, not lack. He does not grow bored and weary as we do. When I am tempted to interpret the repetition in nature as indicative of a god who is no longer active in creation, I must remember my little girl’s delight in monotony. She seems to recognize a beauty in the grass and dirt that I overlook. I hope that my daughter can continue to teach me and rekindle in me a little more of that vitality and contentment.
I’m intrigued by the implications that Chesterton’s reflections have for Scripture meditation and the structure of worship as well. Maybe that will be part 2…
What do you think about repetition? Have you ever wondered why babies love the same things over and over again? Is Chesterton correct in his view of repetition as a sign of life?
Coram Mundo 