Reminds me again of this line I first read a year or so ago. We seem to be living in a time where few want to be challenged or face a struggle "Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times."
I could not agree more, Tom. I tired to convey how great these freedoms are we enjoy, yet how much is lost at the same. We will see if we are the part of the quote that predicts hard times. In any event, like all cycles, there will be a bright side to it.
Keep writing please. It gives me hope. At 78 I can only hope this cycle of lunacy is short and that I can live to see the end. I fear most for my grandkids at 17 and 14. So easily influenced by this nonsense
If I might add... The Fourth Turning by Strauss and Howe demonstrates that we will endure as we have done for most of recorded history. It won't look like when you and I grew up sir. That world, even the world of 30 years ago, is gone forever. It sounds to me like your purpose is to keep your grandkids grounded in reality and truth. A humble and noble purpose one could say.
In Europe, I'm always amazed that every two-bit medieval town has a towering cathedral. Whatever that may say about values and resource allocation, it's a recognition of the the human psychological reality Sam talks about here.
Construction started when there was free manpower and a patron. Said another way, construction started when there was an existential vacuum and humans looking for a purpose.
Construction ground to a halt in times of war and disaster. The manpower and resources were being channeled elsewhere, sure, but those events also unified the community against an external threat and filled a void in the human soul. You didn't need the cathedral when a convenient disaster was at hand. When peace returned, it was time to return to the chisels. Idle hands and all that. But those Cathedrals were the peacetime version of war. A higher aspiration and unifier that could rise above the workaday world of food and shelter and small pleasures well earned.
80% of the workers would never see them completed. How many people today would devote themselves to something as abstract as "a building for my great great grandchildren? Magic. We need some of that today.
Great writing Sam, and your points are spot on! We need challenge, hardship, and the occasional failure, along with a healthy dose of general curiosity to keep life worth living.
As I observe the valley of death (with the river) I cannot go further as a sense of survival engages my senses. The warrior will be awaiting an opportunity with better odds. In the meantime weak souls wither in harmony as lower frequencies draw them to a collective manifestation of controls imposed by the few. Same behavior, same outcome determined by past behaviors.
Really nothing has changed except methods of engagement…
I think this is why pursuits like fishing, hunting, camping, through hiking and mountain climbing are so fulfilling. You put aside your comforts, go forth on a quest, often as a team, and you have an experience you can’t predict and can’t have from the safety of a couch. They lack the mortal immediacy of combat operations, but still provide enough unscripted interaction with nature to challenge the human spirit in a healthy way.
I could not agree more. Combat is just one aspect of hardship. There are things like the outdoors that you mention - cold, heat, effort, bonding, the hunt, hanging off a cliff - that satisfy our need, at least for my part. Thank you for the comment.
Interesting idea... we loved to camp when we were first married. Some 30 years ago. And before that for many years I hiked and backpacked all over New England. When we moved to a rural homestead and began to provide for ourselves more meaningfully, with greater difficulty (when none was necessary... the store was only 25 minutes by car) the desire to camp and escape and reconnect was magically gone. It was many years before we realized this. We don't like to leave our home now. We are content in our labors of collecting firewood and tending to livestock and garden. Rarely watching television but occasionally a movie which increasingly holds little interest. Social media is abhorrent but somehow, here on Substack I feel a greater connection with people. People who write real words about real things. Passionate, intelligent people. I feel so blessed to be able to have other's words rattle around in my pea brain. Teasing out snippets of forgotten truth. We all could do better to write, no matter who reads and responds, or how loquacious, witty or pithy.
I think more and more of us are starting to see the wisdom of the path you walked. I've seen the same trend in myself when it comes to technology. I haven't watched television in a long time, and now when I hear/see a show, it is hard to bear. Substack is offering a far deeper connection and far more engagement.
Absolutely. To be able to converse with people you would NEVER get a chance to engage with is awesome... in the old sense of the word. Sometimes I go to sites which differ in my ideology to attempt to build bridges and to understand. I rarely am met with the same courtesy I extend. But one must try. And then, I stumbled upon your page, and it resonated. Thank you for responding. I look forward to being able to support more writers in the near future.
War parties and cold nights?? Sign me up. Sounds like my kind of party. Because that's where you can find life; in the dark, dank, and stinking pits of death where things slither and crawl waiting for their chance to strike the soul from your body then desecrate and feed on its flesh. Yep. One can find the grand satisfaction of meaning in their life when they take up the hatchet, just as Two Leggings did. And he's right. When it's taken from you, you just live.
Great article, Sam. So many gems in here. Solid work.
Good one Sam. You covered a lot of society’s ills in this essay. Comfort is death. Yet closeness to death leads to a sharper life. So why are so many comfortable people so sad and slowly dying?
Purposelessness leads to hopelessness also leads to addiction—regardless of the particular substance or behavior chosen. The only growth comes through pain and hardship. Those memories you have of combat will always anchor you. 🙏
So well said, Dee. Thank you for pointing out the logical next step of addiction. Addiction can be an incredible thing when channeled productively - the hunt, defending kith and kin, art, and so on. Or it can become a tyrant. Hardship, as you pointed out, is the best regulator I have ever found. I appreciate your thoughts.
I have a dog. He is a great guy, but has no sense of destiny or responsibility. You could say we're friends, in a very off-kilter sort of way. For me, he is a companion; for him I am his sole source of survival.
Too many people are somebody's pet. That may be adequate for a dog, but not people. And those people sense it, even if they can't express it.
As I wrote that, I think of the plantation slaves before the civil war. People think there was an adversarial relationship between master and slave. Generally, not. The slaves were the master's pets, just like their dog or their horse. Slaves were expected to appreciate being cared for. Many did. Some did not.
I think there is a master slave thing going on today. People know something just ain't right, but many can't get a hold of what it is.
I agree, they do know something is not right and are burying it in many creative ways, but I believe nature will always win in the end, whether we must learn the hard way or figure it out the easy way. I think your assessment is accurate. And the more we talk about it, the more we can help articulate the problem. Thank you for jumping in.
Sam, thank you for sharing your real life’s experiences with us. All I can do is empathize and support our vets. I had a wonderful experience of meeting a vet in his mid sixties on a beach in SC when he came ashore with his ocean going kayak. He took a break while on his solo journey from New England to Florida to raise awareness to “mission22.com”. The 22 vet daily suicides could be not an exact number but the help that vets need is ongoing. I wear their hat daily and hope someone will ask to explain. Many elders acknowledge it with a nod, younger ones, no.
This is a fantastic organization with a noble mission. Thank you, Barry. I have to believe your observation about elders/youth is simply a pendulum - or at least I hope so. At least there are incredible out there doing good work.
As a parent, I think about this when talking youth sports with my peers. When I tell people I let my kids play football, many of them react as though I was letting my kids take up base jumping or lion taming. They're opposed to their kids playing football because of concussion risks, and while I get it, I think they're ignoring the risks of their kids not playing football (or something equally challenging and painful). Kids need danger, pain, and hardship. When they don't get it, I think they hunger for it later, and that can lead to the hole you're describing and to making all sorts of dumb decisions (I made most of them myself!) Safety is a fine thing - in moderation - but we shouldn't ignore the risks of prioritizing safety over other more important things.
I could not agree more, Dan. Preventing the risk of injury can more injurious than the injury itself, especially for the young who simply want to experience life.
Another great essay Sam! I see so many people shrinking away from doing uncomfortable things, but I find that these challenges are the source of the most satisfaction in life.
I agree. The hardships of war and even life have the ability to make us better. Even weirder, we are the apex creatures on this planet. Nothing but ourselves to push evolution. Is war that driver?
Reminds me again of this line I first read a year or so ago. We seem to be living in a time where few want to be challenged or face a struggle "Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, and weak men create hard times."
I could not agree more, Tom. I tired to convey how great these freedoms are we enjoy, yet how much is lost at the same. We will see if we are the part of the quote that predicts hard times. In any event, like all cycles, there will be a bright side to it.
Keep writing please. It gives me hope. At 78 I can only hope this cycle of lunacy is short and that I can live to see the end. I fear most for my grandkids at 17 and 14. So easily influenced by this nonsense
I have no doubt it will be short lived. These conversations are happening more and more often. It is my joy to keep on writing - thank you Tom.
If I might add... The Fourth Turning by Strauss and Howe demonstrates that we will endure as we have done for most of recorded history. It won't look like when you and I grew up sir. That world, even the world of 30 years ago, is gone forever. It sounds to me like your purpose is to keep your grandkids grounded in reality and truth. A humble and noble purpose one could say.
In Europe, I'm always amazed that every two-bit medieval town has a towering cathedral. Whatever that may say about values and resource allocation, it's a recognition of the the human psychological reality Sam talks about here.
Construction started when there was free manpower and a patron. Said another way, construction started when there was an existential vacuum and humans looking for a purpose.
Construction ground to a halt in times of war and disaster. The manpower and resources were being channeled elsewhere, sure, but those events also unified the community against an external threat and filled a void in the human soul. You didn't need the cathedral when a convenient disaster was at hand. When peace returned, it was time to return to the chisels. Idle hands and all that. But those Cathedrals were the peacetime version of war. A higher aspiration and unifier that could rise above the workaday world of food and shelter and small pleasures well earned.
80% of the workers would never see them completed. How many people today would devote themselves to something as abstract as "a building for my great great grandchildren? Magic. We need some of that today.
Beautiful analogy, Andrew. It is up to today to fill it with the "magic" you mention. It is a good fight.
Great writing Sam, and your points are spot on! We need challenge, hardship, and the occasional failure, along with a healthy dose of general curiosity to keep life worth living.
Thank you, John. A little bit of rucking outdoors goes a long way.
As I observe the valley of death (with the river) I cannot go further as a sense of survival engages my senses. The warrior will be awaiting an opportunity with better odds. In the meantime weak souls wither in harmony as lower frequencies draw them to a collective manifestation of controls imposed by the few. Same behavior, same outcome determined by past behaviors.
Really nothing has changed except methods of engagement…
I like this: "weak souls wither in harmony as lower frequencies". Thank you, Charlie.
War parties and cold nights. …wow… I appreciate this. Thank you.
You are most welcome, Willy. Apologies I only now saw your note.
I think this is why pursuits like fishing, hunting, camping, through hiking and mountain climbing are so fulfilling. You put aside your comforts, go forth on a quest, often as a team, and you have an experience you can’t predict and can’t have from the safety of a couch. They lack the mortal immediacy of combat operations, but still provide enough unscripted interaction with nature to challenge the human spirit in a healthy way.
I could not agree more. Combat is just one aspect of hardship. There are things like the outdoors that you mention - cold, heat, effort, bonding, the hunt, hanging off a cliff - that satisfy our need, at least for my part. Thank you for the comment.
Interesting idea... we loved to camp when we were first married. Some 30 years ago. And before that for many years I hiked and backpacked all over New England. When we moved to a rural homestead and began to provide for ourselves more meaningfully, with greater difficulty (when none was necessary... the store was only 25 minutes by car) the desire to camp and escape and reconnect was magically gone. It was many years before we realized this. We don't like to leave our home now. We are content in our labors of collecting firewood and tending to livestock and garden. Rarely watching television but occasionally a movie which increasingly holds little interest. Social media is abhorrent but somehow, here on Substack I feel a greater connection with people. People who write real words about real things. Passionate, intelligent people. I feel so blessed to be able to have other's words rattle around in my pea brain. Teasing out snippets of forgotten truth. We all could do better to write, no matter who reads and responds, or how loquacious, witty or pithy.
I think more and more of us are starting to see the wisdom of the path you walked. I've seen the same trend in myself when it comes to technology. I haven't watched television in a long time, and now when I hear/see a show, it is hard to bear. Substack is offering a far deeper connection and far more engagement.
Absolutely. To be able to converse with people you would NEVER get a chance to engage with is awesome... in the old sense of the word. Sometimes I go to sites which differ in my ideology to attempt to build bridges and to understand. I rarely am met with the same courtesy I extend. But one must try. And then, I stumbled upon your page, and it resonated. Thank you for responding. I look forward to being able to support more writers in the near future.
You are most welcome. And I'm grateful for your thoughts, for what that is worth.
War parties and cold nights?? Sign me up. Sounds like my kind of party. Because that's where you can find life; in the dark, dank, and stinking pits of death where things slither and crawl waiting for their chance to strike the soul from your body then desecrate and feed on its flesh. Yep. One can find the grand satisfaction of meaning in their life when they take up the hatchet, just as Two Leggings did. And he's right. When it's taken from you, you just live.
Great article, Sam. So many gems in here. Solid work.
Thank you brother. You have ways of poeticizing those particular moments I can only aspire to.
Good one Sam. You covered a lot of society’s ills in this essay. Comfort is death. Yet closeness to death leads to a sharper life. So why are so many comfortable people so sad and slowly dying?
Purposelessness leads to hopelessness also leads to addiction—regardless of the particular substance or behavior chosen. The only growth comes through pain and hardship. Those memories you have of combat will always anchor you. 🙏
So well said, Dee. Thank you for pointing out the logical next step of addiction. Addiction can be an incredible thing when channeled productively - the hunt, defending kith and kin, art, and so on. Or it can become a tyrant. Hardship, as you pointed out, is the best regulator I have ever found. I appreciate your thoughts.
I have a dog. He is a great guy, but has no sense of destiny or responsibility. You could say we're friends, in a very off-kilter sort of way. For me, he is a companion; for him I am his sole source of survival.
Too many people are somebody's pet. That may be adequate for a dog, but not people. And those people sense it, even if they can't express it.
As I wrote that, I think of the plantation slaves before the civil war. People think there was an adversarial relationship between master and slave. Generally, not. The slaves were the master's pets, just like their dog or their horse. Slaves were expected to appreciate being cared for. Many did. Some did not.
I think there is a master slave thing going on today. People know something just ain't right, but many can't get a hold of what it is.
I agree, they do know something is not right and are burying it in many creative ways, but I believe nature will always win in the end, whether we must learn the hard way or figure it out the easy way. I think your assessment is accurate. And the more we talk about it, the more we can help articulate the problem. Thank you for jumping in.
Sam, thank you for sharing your real life’s experiences with us. All I can do is empathize and support our vets. I had a wonderful experience of meeting a vet in his mid sixties on a beach in SC when he came ashore with his ocean going kayak. He took a break while on his solo journey from New England to Florida to raise awareness to “mission22.com”. The 22 vet daily suicides could be not an exact number but the help that vets need is ongoing. I wear their hat daily and hope someone will ask to explain. Many elders acknowledge it with a nod, younger ones, no.
This is a fantastic organization with a noble mission. Thank you, Barry. I have to believe your observation about elders/youth is simply a pendulum - or at least I hope so. At least there are incredible out there doing good work.
As a parent, I think about this when talking youth sports with my peers. When I tell people I let my kids play football, many of them react as though I was letting my kids take up base jumping or lion taming. They're opposed to their kids playing football because of concussion risks, and while I get it, I think they're ignoring the risks of their kids not playing football (or something equally challenging and painful). Kids need danger, pain, and hardship. When they don't get it, I think they hunger for it later, and that can lead to the hole you're describing and to making all sorts of dumb decisions (I made most of them myself!) Safety is a fine thing - in moderation - but we shouldn't ignore the risks of prioritizing safety over other more important things.
I could not agree more, Dan. Preventing the risk of injury can more injurious than the injury itself, especially for the young who simply want to experience life.
Another great essay Sam! I see so many people shrinking away from doing uncomfortable things, but I find that these challenges are the source of the most satisfaction in life.
Thank you Erik, I know you get it given your adventures in Field Notes. It keeps us feeling alive.
I agree. The hardships of war and even life have the ability to make us better. Even weirder, we are the apex creatures on this planet. Nothing but ourselves to push evolution. Is war that driver?
I wrote a bit on trauma and antifragiluty here:
https://www.polymathicbeing.com/p/trauma-and-antifragility