Sept 27: ‘Meditation in a Toolshed’ + John Wain by Joel Heck

On Sunday, Sept. 27,  we will read aloud and then discuss the essay "Meditation in a Toolshed" by C. S. Lewis (1945): "Looking along the beam, and looking at the beam are very different experiences." Available in God in the Dock p212. Also here is a print version and an audio version (9:37) and a doodle version.

Possible discussion questions provided by Bruce Edwards at our 1999 conference that launched our reading group:

1. What is the difference Lewis implies between looking at and looking along? How would you explain it in your own words?

2. What examples does Lewis use to illustrate the difference between viewpoints? Which are the most effective in your view?

3. What does Lewis mean when he says, "The people who look at things have had it all their own way"? How are they more "privileged" than those who look along? Are these viewpoints mutually exclusive or complementary?

4. What does this tell us about Lewis's "ways of seeing"? What are some of your "toolshed" experiences?

After we discuss "Meditation in a Toolshed," Joel Heck will give us a preview of his presentation on John Wain (1925-1994). Joel will be presenting his research on John Wain to the Inklings Institute of Canada. Lewis was John Wain's tutor at Oxford. If you'd like to read some of John Wain's writing regarding Lewis, go to Brenton Dickieson's  A Pilgrim in Narnia site and read John Wain's "An Obituary of C. S. Lewis' Life as an Oxford Don." 

Lewis-related events and videos: 

C. S. Lewis Symposium: Truth, Goodness, Beauty is available via livestream and in-person from Laguna Hills, California, on Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026, 9:00-12:30 PT (11:00 am - 2:30 pm CT). Jerry Root is the speaker. Livestream and in-person tickets available here.

The Great Divorce is the current book of the Socrates in the City Book Club of Austin/Waco. The book club will meet on Sept. 22 at 6:00 p.m. at Solas Gallery in Salado, TX (between Austin and Waco). Register here. The group is now on chapter 10. Johnny and I enjoyed attending the meeting in August.

The Undiscovered Lewis Conference at George Fox University will be held Sept. 24-27, 2026.

Owen Barfield: Making It New is an online conference hosted by the Owen Barfield Society Oct.24, 2026, with a start-time of 7:00 a.m. PDT (9:00 a.m. CDT). Speakers include Owen A. Barfield and Jim Beitler.

Steve Beebe, Christin Ditchfield Lazo, and Andrew Lazo are speakers at the C. S. Lewis Retreat at Camp Allen, Nov. 6-8, 2026. The retreat theme is "Creation, Kingship, and Consolation: Aslan's Heart in The Magician's Nephew." Camp Allen C. S. Lewis retreats began in 2003.

Central Texas C. S. Lewis is a reading group that meets in Austin, Texas.
For meeting details, please send a request through our Contact Form. Thank you.