Ursula K. Le Guin – Author, Hero, Sage

It has been eight years since the sage was translated from this life into the world beyond…she was and remains a hero of mine.

The first book of hers I ever read was a novella titled: The Lathe of Heaven. The genre was science-fiction, but the book was much more; in her slim masterpiece the author spoke to me about the nature of reality, the function of consciousness and most importantly what it means to be human.

She took the title for this book from the writings of the Taoist, Chuang Tzu (book 23, paragraph 7), which says:

 

~ To let understanding stop at what cannot be understood is a high attainment. Those who cannot do so will be destroyed on the lathe of heaven ~

 

Her book dramatized this sentiment while recapitulating its warning, the consideration of which took me outside of myself and allowed me to see the world…the whole of it, in an entirely new way.

I was fifteen years old at the time, and without realizing it, through Le Guin’s writing, I had been introduced to Taoism (the esoteric tradition) of Lao Tzu, which provided me with a perspective that would subsequently shape the future-history of my life.

Some years later, when I was in the Navy, I found comfort in the Earthsea Chronicles, a series of four novellas in the fantasy genre, complete with wizards and dragons; in book one of this series: A Wizard of Earthsea, she introduces a hero named Sparrowhawk, whose greatest enemy is himself, which forces him to address the existential dilemma expressed in the question:

How do we live with ourselves?

For better or worse, in sickness and in health…how do we do it?

To be clear, Sparrowhawk’s enemy is not exactly himself, rather it is the shadow of the specter of guilt which he carries, a shadow that most if not all human beings carry throughout their lives, shame and guilt which we nurture insofar as we are unable to ask for, and accept forgiveness for the things we have done to hurt or harm those near to us.

The Earthsea Chronicles are written in a simple narrative structure with clear and unpretentiousness prose, and they are so brief that they are more akin to fairy tales than epics and sagas, they can be read to children (which is why I found them comforting…I think). Yet, Ursula Le Guin’s writing is so masterful that sophisticated readers may also find them engaging. They communicate a depth of insight into the human condition that lies just below the surface of the narrative…just as it does beneath the surface of our own minds.

If we liken civilization to a garden, we would have to admit that it is unkempt and wild, and long under shadow; the fruit of our progress has been wilting on the vine, fellowship and common purpose have suffered accordingly. Such themes of discontent are the ideas that she explores in her collection on the Hainish cycle, beginning with the fifth book in the series, The Dispossessed.

Read it!

Eight years ago this luminary departed planet earth, leaving a legacy of literature to light the way for us...and, we need this light more than ever.

We need heroes and teachers like Ursula K. Le Guin, we need them to light the way for us, to guide us into the cloud of unknowing…I miss her.