The irony of satisfaction
Dillard argues that although human life is defined by striving and toil, perhaps the truth about happiness and joy is ironically opposite to those actions. She argues that babies experience what adults want to experience, but that is because they are so overwhelmed by reality that they can't help but to appreciate their confusing exist, and their surrender is the source of their joy. She says that, although human life is about accomplishment and progress, the true goal of human emotions is simply to relax, to appreciate, and to be thankful for reality.
The artistry of reality
Dillard argues that wonder is concealed from human consciousness by dramatic irony, but that the most ironic aspect of this dramatic concealment is that it is quite simple to return to wonder. By taking the time to appreciate nature, she says a person can restore their appetite for life and experience, because everything in nature is so deeply artistic and beautiful that anyone with an eye for such beauty will be healed in some way.
Religion and science
Some religious people argue against science, and some scientific people argue against religion, but in this book, Dillard inserts an ironic argument of her own. By discussing Tielhard de Chardin, she is literally demonstrating that the two arenas are compatible. It was his love for God and reality that drove de Chardin to scientific discovery, and Dillard writes about her nearly-magical encounter with that man.
Evil and suffering
Dillard's essays are not designed to ignore evil or suffering. In fact, she dedicates an important part of these essays to dealing with precisely those issues. She underlines the irony of life's suffering, because the pain seems antithetical to the artistic power of reality. Why should intense states of physical and emotional pain exist? She even refers to the genocides of the earth. She says that these issues are not issues that could be ignored, so ironically her argument about appreciation and joy is rooted in an awareness of suffering.
The irony of experience
The book's mystical quality is rooted in an irony that Dillard points the reader back to in every section of the book. It's kind of weird that anything exists at all, isn't it? For perhaps the most beautiful reflection of this wonder, look at her discussion of the zeitgeist. The combined effect of all human consciousness in a particular culture gives rise to a "spirit of the age" that evolves over time. This is a beautiful portrait of the cultural metaphysic, and her desire to see the issues of our age resolved in love and compassion are also brilliant. The irony is that human life could have such deeply meaningful aspects.
