Two Things I Learned About/From Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Yesterday I picked up Bonhoeffer's Letters and Papers From Prison at the library. I read approximately the first ten communications that he had with his friends and family and here are two things I learned:

1. He enjoyed a good smoke. At one point he requests his mother to bring him his pipe and some cigarettes. I would have never guessed it. "Respected people from the history of the Church can't smoke." I thought. This thought may be a good indication of how our current culture has shaped how I think.
2. Although his situation was less than ideal, Bonhoeffer made it sound quite tolerable. The bed wasn't too hard and there were even a few varieties of dry bread to eat. And when they let him outside for a few minutes each day to smoke he claimed that he barely remembered that he was in prison. Wow. That is hardly the perspective I have. I complain about getting up at five in the morning and not having enough natural light at work. And I have not been persecuted for anything. I need to be more thankful.