Hi!

I just have one question for EVERYONE!

How has Ray Bradbury inspired you?

This is How Ray Inspired Me::::

Met Ray, for the first time.... for lunch...back in 1970...and within 20 minutes knew my whole life was absolutely, totally....going in the wrong direction.

Went home (Chicago)...and soon ...left my job, my family...and went away to San Francisco and lived there for 9 months trying to deal with the 'sin' in my life, that blinded me to the right direction in life.

(Whatevergurl:::You asked a question, so I 'm going to answer it however strange it sounds.)

From there, back to Chicago briefly, then back to LA for 4 months, back to Chicago for 3 years, and then back to LA for the next 17 years....where, early during all this confusion, in 1978, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Saviour, and experienced being 'Born Again'. Told Ray immediately...and he said he was "...glad he was in some way a Christian influence."

Today...I see Ray as a man trying to understand who Christ really is...even though he has written stories and poems about 'Him'... What is this redemption process all about? What really lies beyond the grave? He doesn't really know. I talked with him and corresponded with him enough to learn this....

Practically, for Ray...it's a nice story...eternal life... but believes immortality is simply passed on thru others.

Now...the question is:::::
'How does God use Ray to bring people to a relationship with the Saviour, even tho Ray doesn't really "know" the Saviour...or believes there is life for him, thru Christ, after death?'

I'll even answer that::::
My answer to that is ...the very character of Christ Himself is entwined in the fabric of Ray's prose....so authentic, so real...that we are absolutely awed by the gift that Ray weaves. Do you get it??? If you were to throw yourself completely into finding out.....what "that" something in Ray's writings is....(I Did)...I discovered Jesus Christ, The GodMan... smack dab in the journey, shining thru the prose.

And that's how Ray has Inspired me.

God moves in mysterious ways. Although I subscribe to the Christian religion, it hasn't always been the most inspiring influence on me as it seems most of the "good parts" are supposed to happen after you're dead. Ray taught me there are ways to look at the world which make it more enjoyable while you're here, therefore, inspiring you to want to stay around longer.

Dandelion::::
"....good parts after you're dead"...???

Gee! Scripture reads..... "...it 'hasn't' even entered into the mind or heart of man...what God has prepared for those who love Him." What good parts you think you're looking at...probably doesn't exist except here.


[This message has been edited by Nard Kordell (edited 11-18-2002).]

Interesting discussion. I think traditional christianity gets a bad rap sometimes on it's alleged focus on futurity to the exclusion of a full living in the present. In the sixties, many investigated Buddhism because it was not so future-focused. Inner peace was obtained now -- not in some theoretical future life. But there are several New Testament scriptures that say things like, "Take no thought for the morrow, the morrow shall take thought for itself, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matt, in the Sermon on the Mount)

There are also a lot of scriptures in the Gospel of John that talk about Christ indwelling us NOW.

But I think one of the most powerful references is from Paul, in the Epistle to the Galations, where he says that, ". . . it is no longer I that live, but Christ who lives in me." (Galations 2:20, I think). The point is that Christianity doesn't just promise pie-in-the-sky happiness in futurity. We are promised that we can live with God in us now.

Traditional Christianity sometimes neglects the arts, and other religious/philosophical views as containing means where God "speaks" directly to man's soul. These "outside" sources contribute to happiness and spiritual fulfillment, also.

I sometimes feel as spiritually moved by reading Emerson or Thoreau (or even some passages in The Martian Chronicles) as when I'm at church. One of the ideas that my 9th grade reading of Bradbury brought to me was that spiritual ideas/feelings/beliefs are a part of man's make-up. While I may be over-reading him, that is how I remember being impacted when reading his works.

The above two replies are quite heartening. I'd planned a response much to the same point, that the kingdom of heaven is at hand, now, today. Glad to see others say the same thing but only in a much better way.

That's why I love this site.

Pete

Back to the original question . . .

I have posted my story of how Bradbury influenced me in other places here, but to attempt a brief bullet listing (too many years in corporate America):

(1) He turned me -- an inveterate non-reader -- into a reading zealot.

(2) He turned me on to the world of ideas. Prior to F451, the thought that ideas mattered and were of significant and even compelling interest was not a part of my life assumptions.

(3) Because of #'s 1 and 2 above, I have enjoyed literature, religion, theology, philosophy, debate, argumentation (in the best sense of that word) and a life of reflection and passion that would not have occured without Bradbury's influence in my life.

(4) Because of #'s 1, 2, and 3; I was motivated to earn Masters Degrees in both English and Philosophy.

When I met Bradbury at a book signing in Pasadena, CA; I felt like I was with a religious icon -- not an author.

The ultimate inspiration of Ray Bradbury in my life is the novel Something Wicked This Way Comes. Each time I read it, I am reminded that I need to live my life through the eyes of a child and not let it pass me by.

First of all, greetings to all of you. I am new on this message board, but have been a Bradbury fan for several years now.

How has Ray inspired me? He brought to my attention the fact that, though the world is in many instances a cold and bitter place, much of what you do in life is based on YOUR choices. To me, F451 is an incredible novel that, when written, was extremely prophetic (not to say Ray is a prophet - he posseses amazing foresight). Now, with the prophecies more or less fulfilled, we need to look at Montag, at Clarisse, at Faber, even at Beatty, and say, "If reality here, now, is the reality in F451, what can I learn from the protagonists, as well as the antagonists, to help me today?"

I have learned, from Ray's works, that the only limitations in life that exist are the limitations I have placed on myself. The situation or problem which fetters me is, in most instances, self-inflicted. Some limitations cannot be avoided (of, say, a diabetic eating as a non-diabetic might), but I am the only person who can change my position in life. Montag fought back, against the grain of society, to free his mind in hopes of freeing others someday.

Apart from being a beautiful author and poet, Bradbury caresses a chord of truth inside of me that will resonate forever. The book, the page, the written word: these are what I have come to love - there was something more to life than materialism, sex, even religion...he showed me a better reality. And I would not want it any other way.

Ray, thank you.

I have recently re-read Ray's book "Zen in the Art of Writing" and I must say that it continues to re-inspire me to write, write, write. Sometimes life takes you away from your writing. Thanks, Ray, for helping to bring me back to my destiny.

I was in a screenwriting class at UCLA when September 11th hit. I saw a lot of people questioning the worth of their art (writing) -- it seemed almost insignificant and irrelevant in the light of such violence and tragedy. But Ray's words (in Zen in the Art of Writing) kept me going:

"While art cannot, as we wish it could, save us from wars, privation, envy, greed, old age, or death, it can revitalize us amidst it all."

It's too easy to discount the value of art in our lives, too easy to turn away from the pursuit of art for the more "practical" things. I kept Ray's quote on an index card and carried it with me for months.