I really appreciate it Lou. I'm still scoping out the essay format. All I can really pull off in this amount of words are sniper shots rather than a machine gun, so it is difficult to still bring up the larger picture, and this is a challenge I'm really enjoying. Thank you as always for reading.
Lacing them up now, and taking my 30 lb vest for a walk to watch the sun rise at the ocean. Thanks , Sam. And yes, it’s voluntary. Intentional as well.
Byung-Chul Han talks about how our obsession with the new, with stimuli and experience (which is almost always devoid of hardship) doesn't just fail to satisfy our innate need for true meaning, but erodes our capacity to perceive and pursue such meaning. Your writing about hardship helps me to better understand what Han and others describe, and puts it in a much more actionable setting. Thank you.
I am a fan of Han's work as well. I've read the Achievement Society and the Transparency Society so far. I like these books even more considering they are only ~45 pages each. My goal was to use a bit more phenomenology to bring the experience to the five senses, so your feedback is much appreciated, Dan, I'm glad it came through.
Yes, I'm grateful that Han packs so much into such short (relatively speaking) volumes. This also makes me even more look forward to your future posts--one of the pieces of Han's analysis that I bump up against is when he uses "neoliberalism" as the causal agent for the decline of rituals, for example. I can appreciate what he means, but I often feel like "neoliberalism" is too broad and abstract, and thus when it's time to think about more concrete actions, it's less useful in pointing out the paths ahead.
100%. He is a true academic philosopher so my hunch is he has to "stay in his lane," which means he has to be abstract. Philosophy hits like a freight train when it is grounded in concretes, and this sort of philosophy only takes place where there are no rules. It is what I am attempting to do here. The entire system I am scoping out with these essays is rooted in concretes, each building toward a broader understand of ancient hardship, modern ease, and a future path I am building bit by bit. One of the other problems with modern philosophy is the focus on the "problem" and not the "solution". Anyone can criticize the modern world, but rarely does anyone offer a legitimate and passionate path forward.
The entitled never get the honor or privilege of pulling on a heavy 80 pound or more ruck sack filled with “essentials’ sling a rifle over one side and tell your platoon Sargent “Come let’s get them going”, not wishing to go at all! Your Marines, getting on their feet, hearing their grunts and groans and mumbled protests. But up they get, and off you go, the long march to the field, to be away from garrison and to train, unhindered by flagpoles and painting rocks, chow becomes special, water! Warm or marginally cool better than a Tall PBR. The entitled will never feel the inner slow smile of watching Marines eating chow in the chow hall, because for the first time in their lives there is opportunity to be fed 3 times a day, a rack to sleep in and a way of life to be part of that is free of sadness and pain and hunger. The entitled know nothing. Period. A whole generation Sam, baby boomers entitled and spoiled and now trying to go out with a fight. What a joke. The 1% who went, who served and fought and some died, know how bad the entitled are, and to them of course we say “welcome home brother” or to the women who went “welcome home sister.”
Now it is our turn to watch them disintegrate and sail off on the winds of disrepute. Good riddance!
Now where did i leave my P-38, I have an old can of pears to open…
Charles, this is epic. Both the Gikwe and our beloved Jarheads have much to teach us. Your point about 3x meals a day strikes home perfectly... that is a perspective that is never lost. Thank you for jumping in.
Sam: part of the beauty of your evolving series is that it attracts a certain mind, not only to digest the ideas and toss around the concepts but to gnaw on the gristle, if you will, of the interwoven themes. In my case that gnawing happens on my little jaunts with my vest and/or an additional sandbag, because it is in those moments of voluntary discomfort, pain, or “strategic misery” that I find myself appreciating most authentically the sights, smells, and feel of the world around me. Ironically this morning I had run out of excuses for not rising earlier and just getting going, when I told myself that I’d “read Sam’s offering” and then see what happens. Well wouldn’t you know that about halfway through I realized you had taken that option away also, and chuckling to myself I locked the house behind me and took off! Clearly the choice was mine, and I smiled through each rise in the road, unevenness of the route, and the miles I walked. One woman heard me behind her, and she remarked at my pace and smiled when I told her I’d been chasing her down for a quarter mile. When I hit the beach my lungs filled with crisp salt air, and I realized I hadn’t thought once more about any excuse for not getting on it, and smiled again. The amazing thing about this taste of hardship was the gratitude that felt for being in that place where my mind felt whole, focused, intentional, and free. There’s the reward! Thanks for the thoughts this am. As always they are something to chew on. Tim
Tim, this is a beautiful story. I am stoked to hear this piece struck you in a way that impacted your weight-bearing, mile-crushing start to the day. I know what you mean by gristle; my favorite authors leave me with something similar. It is like adding octane booster to gas.
Medicine balls bring a different sort of medicine than the modern kind of medicine, and it sounds like your body is responding to it just right. Get after it, Dee!
I love this quote. I believe it is in our DNA to seek the easy path: excess calories, excess rest, excess do-nothing syndrome simply because life was so demanding we never had the ability to actually do-nothing. I've called it the Hardship Immune System in a past essay. I imagine learning to command this impulse through hardship is how we always have "hard times" to break the cycle.
You’re circling around something important, Sam — love watching it evolve.
I really appreciate it Lou. I'm still scoping out the essay format. All I can really pull off in this amount of words are sniper shots rather than a machine gun, so it is difficult to still bring up the larger picture, and this is a challenge I'm really enjoying. Thank you as always for reading.
Lacing them up now, and taking my 30 lb vest for a walk to watch the sun rise at the ocean. Thanks , Sam. And yes, it’s voluntary. Intentional as well.
Get after it, Tim. A ruck, rising sun, and ocean sand is the best morning possible.
Byung-Chul Han talks about how our obsession with the new, with stimuli and experience (which is almost always devoid of hardship) doesn't just fail to satisfy our innate need for true meaning, but erodes our capacity to perceive and pursue such meaning. Your writing about hardship helps me to better understand what Han and others describe, and puts it in a much more actionable setting. Thank you.
I am a fan of Han's work as well. I've read the Achievement Society and the Transparency Society so far. I like these books even more considering they are only ~45 pages each. My goal was to use a bit more phenomenology to bring the experience to the five senses, so your feedback is much appreciated, Dan, I'm glad it came through.
Yes, I'm grateful that Han packs so much into such short (relatively speaking) volumes. This also makes me even more look forward to your future posts--one of the pieces of Han's analysis that I bump up against is when he uses "neoliberalism" as the causal agent for the decline of rituals, for example. I can appreciate what he means, but I often feel like "neoliberalism" is too broad and abstract, and thus when it's time to think about more concrete actions, it's less useful in pointing out the paths ahead.
100%. He is a true academic philosopher so my hunch is he has to "stay in his lane," which means he has to be abstract. Philosophy hits like a freight train when it is grounded in concretes, and this sort of philosophy only takes place where there are no rules. It is what I am attempting to do here. The entire system I am scoping out with these essays is rooted in concretes, each building toward a broader understand of ancient hardship, modern ease, and a future path I am building bit by bit. One of the other problems with modern philosophy is the focus on the "problem" and not the "solution". Anyone can criticize the modern world, but rarely does anyone offer a legitimate and passionate path forward.
The entitled never get the honor or privilege of pulling on a heavy 80 pound or more ruck sack filled with “essentials’ sling a rifle over one side and tell your platoon Sargent “Come let’s get them going”, not wishing to go at all! Your Marines, getting on their feet, hearing their grunts and groans and mumbled protests. But up they get, and off you go, the long march to the field, to be away from garrison and to train, unhindered by flagpoles and painting rocks, chow becomes special, water! Warm or marginally cool better than a Tall PBR. The entitled will never feel the inner slow smile of watching Marines eating chow in the chow hall, because for the first time in their lives there is opportunity to be fed 3 times a day, a rack to sleep in and a way of life to be part of that is free of sadness and pain and hunger. The entitled know nothing. Period. A whole generation Sam, baby boomers entitled and spoiled and now trying to go out with a fight. What a joke. The 1% who went, who served and fought and some died, know how bad the entitled are, and to them of course we say “welcome home brother” or to the women who went “welcome home sister.”
Now it is our turn to watch them disintegrate and sail off on the winds of disrepute. Good riddance!
Now where did i leave my P-38, I have an old can of pears to open…
Charles, this is epic. Both the Gikwe and our beloved Jarheads have much to teach us. Your point about 3x meals a day strikes home perfectly... that is a perspective that is never lost. Thank you for jumping in.
Sam: part of the beauty of your evolving series is that it attracts a certain mind, not only to digest the ideas and toss around the concepts but to gnaw on the gristle, if you will, of the interwoven themes. In my case that gnawing happens on my little jaunts with my vest and/or an additional sandbag, because it is in those moments of voluntary discomfort, pain, or “strategic misery” that I find myself appreciating most authentically the sights, smells, and feel of the world around me. Ironically this morning I had run out of excuses for not rising earlier and just getting going, when I told myself that I’d “read Sam’s offering” and then see what happens. Well wouldn’t you know that about halfway through I realized you had taken that option away also, and chuckling to myself I locked the house behind me and took off! Clearly the choice was mine, and I smiled through each rise in the road, unevenness of the route, and the miles I walked. One woman heard me behind her, and she remarked at my pace and smiled when I told her I’d been chasing her down for a quarter mile. When I hit the beach my lungs filled with crisp salt air, and I realized I hadn’t thought once more about any excuse for not getting on it, and smiled again. The amazing thing about this taste of hardship was the gratitude that felt for being in that place where my mind felt whole, focused, intentional, and free. There’s the reward! Thanks for the thoughts this am. As always they are something to chew on. Tim
Tim, this is a beautiful story. I am stoked to hear this piece struck you in a way that impacted your weight-bearing, mile-crushing start to the day. I know what you mean by gristle; my favorite authors leave me with something similar. It is like adding octane booster to gas.
At the risk of oversimplifying the brilliance of this piece: stunning—both in truth and imagery.
I am very much obliged, Erin. Thank you for reading.
I read this after finishing a new addition to my morning workout—lunge walking with a 20-lb. medicine ball.
I am sorely reminded that I’m 67 but goddamn it I’m trying—voluntarily. 👊💪🏻
Medicine balls bring a different sort of medicine than the modern kind of medicine, and it sounds like your body is responding to it just right. Get after it, Dee!
There’s an essay Sam. The origin of the medicine ball. Who in their right mind? ☺️
A quote by G. Michael Hopf from his book “Those Who Remain” comes to mind:
“Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.”
Is it simulation being lazy in coding a “rhyme” routine or is it part of our DNA?
I love this quote. I believe it is in our DNA to seek the easy path: excess calories, excess rest, excess do-nothing syndrome simply because life was so demanding we never had the ability to actually do-nothing. I've called it the Hardship Immune System in a past essay. I imagine learning to command this impulse through hardship is how we always have "hard times" to break the cycle.
Excellent piece, Sam. Thought-out, prescient ideas then illustrated with vivid eloquence. Thank you for sharing this.
You are very welcome, James, I'm grateful you found value here.