The rowdy Tolstoy at 20, long before the conversion to radical Chrsitianity 30 years later. Witnessing a public execution in Paris had a profound impact on his thinking–and contributed to his conversion and brand of what is known in theology as “Christian anarchy.” In later life he wrote a number of Christian books, including “The Kingdom of God is Within You” and “What I Believe.”
If you see that some aspect of your society is bad, and you want to improve it, there is only one way to do so: you have to improve people. And in order to improve people, you begin with only one thing: you can become better yourself.” (My italics for emphasis.)
— Leo Tolstoy, “A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily Thoughts to Nourish the Soul.” (Also known as “Path of Life.”
The only “self-improvement” book you’ll ever need–none of the breezy “New Age” wisdom here, but enduring, classic thoughts–and good thoughts at that.
It’s been said by many people in many ways that any one person can make a big difference for the betterment of the world. Taking the broad view of this, even one person who is making a difference in his or her little town or village, even with seemingly small but habitual acts of kindness and generosity of spirit, is making an impact in the world.
As Christian revolutionaries like Dorothy Day and Tolstoy–two Christians high on my list of “faith heroes’–and so many others have said, making the world a better place begins with what Day referred to as “a revolution of the heart.”
One of Dorothy Day’s life projects was figuring out how to do that, to spread the revolution that happened in her own heart when she left behind radical communism and communist friends in her huge conversion to radical love Christianity.
* * * *
In the quote from Tolstoy at the top of this posting, note that the literary genius said that in order to make a better society and improve the people in it, “you can improve yourself.”
He didn’t say you should improve yourself, or you must do it. He didn’t use that kind of preachy, Old Testament language in his Christian writings. He simply said you can do it.
He believed you can improve–if not by immersing yourself in the radical love teachings of the New Testament and putting those teachings into radical love action–by immersing yourself in the wisdom of high-minded philosophers and theologians and great spirits who made a difference.
That’s the very reason that he published A Calendar of Wisdom: Daily Thoughts to Nourish the Soul, his last major work. He said he considered it his greatest contribution. That was a mouthful coming from a writer far more famous for classic tomes like War and Peace, Anna Karenina and so much more.
But that was Tolstoy, a Christian who, for all the deep and heavy and enduring body of literature that he produced, simply believed that you can improve yourself and thereby improve other people and society, right where you are.
Amen to that little nugget of Leo’s wisdom.
More on Dorothy Day here.
And for more on Mr. Tolstoy, including his conversion and “Christian anarchy” theology of radical love and theology of non-violent resistance, based largely on the Sermon on the Mount, click here. Or here for the Wiki treatment.
Leave a Reply