In Fool View

On this weeks very special episode of In Fool View we talk about Fredrik deBoer’s book “The Cult of Smart” and the broader state of education in America. We barely scratched the surface in the allotted time, but this is a topic we are sure to return to. So, consider this perhaps volume one of our “Musings on Education.” 

As another year begins, there is a collective thought that we are given an opportunity to start anew. We are presented with a turning point and are offered a chance – or a choice – to change. I reflect on the efforts I made as I was presented with this turning point a year ago, and I consider my lofty goals and expectations. It is easy to find failure there and see what little was accomplished, but that is no excuse to continue on a path of passivity. A task I undertook was meditation and reflection through the aid of Ryan Holiday’s “The Daily Stoic.” This was a path only ventured into for ten days. Though as I look through the journal I kept in response, I found that the first few entries have value for the year that lay ahead.

The first two entries in Holiday’s collection, January 1^st and 2^nd respectfully, comment on the ideas of choice and knowledge as presented by Epictetus. So, here we are again, faced with choices, as we are every day, and what follows are my responses to the musings of Epictetus repurposed…

Considering the idea of choice, I must be mindful of the decisions I make and the paths that stem directly from them. The choices I make should be sound so the path that follows is stable. While I can and should consider the choices of others, the path I carve out must be my own. To reference the words of Joseph Campbell, “You enter the forest at the darkest point. Where there is no path. Where there is a way or a path, it is someone else’s path. You are not on your own path. If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realize your own potential.” I believe this bit of wisdom from Campbell to be a good starting point for myself as I venture forward. Every waking day is an opportunity to walk to the edge of a forest and to peer into the darkness that lives within, the wild unknown, and to try and tame it, to know it, to carve my own path.

To undertake this journey, it is important to consider what it means to venture into the unknown. Can one truly be at peace, live without fear, and be a free man simply at the gaining of knowledge? It is said that we only fear what we do not know, so it would stand to reason that the more you know the less you fear. It is also said that ignorance is bliss, and is bliss not a state of tranquility or peace? Where to know more is to think more and to think more can turn into a burden of the mind and of the soul. But to think, and to think for oneself is to BE, and is that not a truer mark of freedom? To know that there are things to fear, but to also know that fear can be overcome through wisdom – this is a liberating notion. In the face of fear, or the unknown, one is offered the previously commented on choices. To shy away from the dark corners of the world or to journey into the unknown. Seeking knowledge is a choice. A free mind ought not to sit idly by in ignorant bliss, it should seek out what it fears, and suss out the knowledge to shed light on the darkness and conquer the shadows within one’s own mind.

So, after reflecting on the ideas of choice and knowledge, I am faced with a feeling of unease, a sense of dread. What lies ahead is unknown, most certainly uncomfortable, but there is no virtue taking the road well-traveled. I choose to move toward the unfamiliar wild, to try and make my own way, and I hope it makes all the difference.  

The inaugural episode. A rough and rambling conversation about conversations. We discuss what we hope to accomplish with this podcast and dip our toes into the pool of potential topics of discussion.

First time at most of this, so I hope to refine the format and technical aspects of the podcast as time marches on.

Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved

-Helen Keller

            In my adult life I have not had a positive relationship with running, especially for any distance over a few hundred meters. For a huge chunk of time the idea of running a mile seemed, if not impossible, very arduous. In fact, for a while I could not complete the task without breaking into a walk around the halfway mark, if not sooner. Even after getting to a point in my life where I was more confident in my “fitness” – the idea of running a mile still presented itself as a major obstacle. Along comes The Sisu Way to issue a challenge for the month of December in the year 2020 that they called: “The Character Mile.” This was a challenge to run a mile every day of the month. 31 miles in 31 days. Character, in this context, is most likely defined as an attribute of “moral excellence and firmness,” or better put by the challenge itself, attributes of “resilience, gratitude, connection, community…” This would be a challenge of grit and determination.

            As previously noted, a single mile was already a challenge to me, so to run thirty-one of them was a daunting task. A beautiful aspect of the challenge came in the form of accountability and community. Though I ran every mile alone, I had friends and family that kept me on track. For most of the miles logged I used the Strava app to track my runs, and I was able to share my efforts with others. I cannot say with any certainty that that I would have completed this challenge without the accountability and support of my friends. There were three friends who took on this challenge with me, and through their mutual participation I was able to maintain my motivation. On days where I felt like throwing in the towel, I would see their posted runs and through a sense of responsibility to them, I would force myself to hit the pavement. Many days I considered walking the “hard” mile, and I gave into that impulse on one account, slowing to a crawl while taking one of my dogs with me. This did not go unnoticed, and I was rightfully called out for my soft effort. Through the observation of my friend, I was guilted into a second effort – recording my challenge best 7 minute 12 second mile.

            In this comradery, I did doubt my true character. If there was no one to witness my efforts, I cannot guarantee efforts would have been made. My only resistance to this doubt comes from every run I completed after I was called out. There were still many days where my back ached, my legs were sore, and my knees felt likely to explode and the thought of walking reentered my mind – but I always managed to turn in a brisk jog at the very least. Every honest run came in under 10 minutes, most under 9 minutes, and a healthy few were sub 8 minutes. There were even days, when my lungs felt up to the task, that I moved more than a mile. This reached an apex of my “distance” running around the 2.5-mile mark.

            While the gathered community provided a much-needed crutch. It did not alleviate all struggle from the challenge. Life itself can be a challenge. With work, rough weather, or other responsibilities, a running challenge will often come to seem trivial. Lacing up my running shoes after a long day’s work was regularly the biggest obstacle to overcome in the first half of this challenge. On particularly cold evenings or rainy mornings these runs became even harder. And running through grief was the most challenging, yet most cathartic run of them all.

            In the midst of this challenge, I was faced with the concrete reality of one of my dogs’ failing health. He struggled though pain, and surgery – to no avail – and I was left with the challenge of a hard choice. On December 18^th I said goodbye to my boy Chappie, and after crying the whole drive home, I replaced one pain with another, and logged my 18^th mile. In this capacity, the trivial challenge of a daily run may have saved me from a deeper despair. Grief is a strange and overwhelming feeling, and the physical release of that evening run made for honest therapy on a cold winter night. I will take minutes or days’ worth of burning lungs and swollen knees over a single moment of pain from a fractured heart.

            From the reluctant first mile, to stiff mid-winter runs, to milestone victories, and grief fueled efforts, this challenge taught me the value of friendship, and pain, and health. I am not sure if the challenge really was a testament to my character. It was most often presented as a physical thing, an issue of mind over matter… The challenge was also a welcome distraction from the trials which life so consistently offers. I am happy to have run all thirty-one days, and to have extended my efforts beyond thirty-one miles. I am grateful to know that my mind and my body are capable of overcoming such obstacles. I am glad to know that something that once seemed so intimidating to me I can now label as trivial. The Character Mile Challenge has finished, but I feel like this is only a start.

“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”

-Socrates

In fool view…

My mission is based on the fundamental understanding that what I know accounts for extraordinarily little in relation to all available knowledge. I look at the world through the eyes of ignorance, bringing only the experience of my life and a limited exposure of history and philosophy as the lens through which I attempt to understand the world around me. I would like to know more, so I can understand better.

While I know this is a fool’s errand, I believe it is a task worth undertaking. I could simply traverse through my own existence in linear fashion, absorbing only the information that is presented to me, but I believe there is value in the search for information, the quest for knowledge.

I acknowledge my own ignorance, and in brief moments of self-reflection I realize that I project that ignorance onto the world – so, I take a breath here, ready to make the climb into worlds that I do not know, so that I may attempt to understand them.

Forgive my stubbornness and apprehension to ascend from this cave of my own understanding, or lack thereof. The light is blinding, and the air is cold. It will take time for my vision to adjust, and my flesh to settle.