The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness can be summed up in one sentence, "I don't care what you think, and I don't care what I think." Keller expounds on the premise that his sins and his identity are not connected. His accomplishments and his identity are not connected. We need to stop judging ourselves, that is already done for us. We still sin, but we are loved. "My conscience is clear," he says, "but that does not make me innocent."
Keller uses a quote from Madonna to better be able to relate his idea.
Madonna says, "My drive in life comes from a fear of being mediocre. I push past one spell of it and discover myself as a special human being but then I feel I am still mediocre and uninteresting unless I do something else. Because even though I have become somebody, I still have to prove that I am somebody. My struggle has never ended and I guess it never will."
Keller says Madonna's plight is a common one. It's because we get our self-worth from our ego which is insatiable. We need to stop focusing on us, good or bad, and focus on others. He talks about C.S. Lewis's view of humbleness from his book Mere Christianity. (One of my favorites, by the way.) Lewis says if we met a truly humble person we'd never come away from them thinking they were humble. They would not be telling us they were a nobody because someone who does that is really self-obsessed. The thing we would remember from meeting a truly humble person is:
"...how much they seemed to be totally interested in us. Because the essence of humility is not thinking more of myself or thinking less of myself, it is thinking of myself less."
I really like this idea. This little book takes you on a a trip through your conscienceness and self-worth, making you examine how and how often you view yourself. How often do you put yourself in judgment? How often do you compare yourself to others? I know I do it constantly. I mean, what is my accomplishment of reading so many books if everyone has read the same amount? But I also realized I do some of this "unthinking of self". Every time I meet someone new (which being an extrovert, I love), I know, if you can get someone talking, most people really like to talk about themselves. You just have to find the right avenue. And the more I know about someone, the more I see them on the inside, what makes them shine, the more I can love them.
I'm a Christian, so my God calls me to love people like this. But I don't think this concept has to be viewed from a Christian standpoint. Wouldn't the world be a little better if everyone tried to love a little more? Yes, it sounds cheesy, but when I start to censor myself because I think it's too much rainbows and flowers, I think to myself, dammit, we need more rainbows and flowers. And even if people don't admit it, they like it too, and they'd jump in with love if it came to that. Think of 911. Or more recently, the Boston bombings. Think of all the people that ran to and not away from the blast right after it happened. Perhaps I'm an optimist but I believe there's some part of all of us that wants to be that person. The one that runs toward the blast instead of away from it. The one who goes into the crumbling building to rescue someone they don't know because it's been hit by a plane. The one who stands in front of a gun pointed at a child in a school shooting.
I think Keller has a good point here and it can be applied anywhere with anyone. It's a relatively small book, only about fifty pages long. That's probably my biggest beef with it. I would have liked to see more. Maybe some more references to real life experiences and examples. I think a lot of areas of the book could have been expanded on. Overall, I really enjoyed it. I think it teaches a good lesson, and those that focus on themselves less and others more are generally happier people.