I'm not sure if I am misinterpreting something, but this description of awe by Jonathan Haidt makes me think of the father in Cormac McCarthy's "The Road", and how he describes the desolate landscape around him.
Death follows him and his son on every step, danger is lurking everywhere, and still, what he notices the most is the tiny details of the ashen ground up to the grey and silent serpentines of a nearby creek...
It's harrowing, but beautiful and awe-inspiring at the same time!
Lots of interesting bits to digest here. I will mention that the painting at the beginning of the essay is intense. I sat and looked at it for a good ten minutes. Also, I have met some knuckle draggers in my day, and I am not sure you fall into that category. Your erudition is holding you back from achieving full knuckle dragger status. Always appreciate reading your thoughts Sam.
John Martin is my favorite painter, hands down. If you dug this, check out his other works. Some are dark and yet they put me into an epic, deep feeling place. I appreciate it Matthew.
It is a reference to apes who walk dragging their knuckles on the ground. In English it is used as an idiomatic expression referring to individuals who are not very smart. It can be used as an insult but often in military circles it is worn as a badge of honor meaning that you are one of the gang, you work for a living, etc..
Awe seems to freeze time and let one feel an infinite presence. Intimidating and peaceful at the same time. May be that duality is the essence of nature. However one is able to experience this essence is a gift. Most of the time we stumble into it. Sometimes we are able to just stop in the moment and "see", feel, and know it.
A few weeks ago, I started doing a 36 hour fast starting Monday evening and beginning again Wednesday morning. Tuesdays made the most sense for my current schedule to go without eating or drinking anything than water throughout the day.
I’m glad it just so happens to be on the same day you release your essays. Good time to absorb the perspectives you put out while I’m “enduring” the most mild and laughable forms of discomfort when considering history or more extreme forms of modern hardship.
You have certainly found your mentor as a soldier poet in Ernst Jünger. From Storm of Steel onward he embraced a life which you have shared, mutatis mutandis. Like you he embarked on a lifelong quest to create an aesthetic order around his purest responses to his extreme experiences. Jünger was a cool and exceptionally warrior, and a first class thinker and writer.
He became a Catholic at the end of his life.
Aristotle tells us that the original impulse which gives birth to philosophical thinking is a sense of wonder, “thaumazein”, which seens similar to how you use “awe”.
Your description of the combination of magnitude and terror is also discussed by Edmund Burke in his short, insightful and beautifully written “Inquiry into the Meaning of the Sublime and the Beautiful”.
Both you and Jünger are connoisseurs of the sublime.
Chris, thank you for one of the most insightful and perspective comments I’ve gotten to date. Your description of Jünger’s mission, Aristotles θουμαζειν, and Edmund Burke’s sublime are dialed in. The Haidt study had a segment of Burke which led me to his piece, and I realized I felt his exact definition of sublime mid way through Hell Week. I have the bones of the essay teed up. Thank you for your thoughts.
For you the goat shit was “stop and smell the roses” moment. How often we’ve heard that? Many times the world around us bombard us with events that makes us forget to do that, especially when our bodies need it. I love connecting events and coincidentally or by design, a few days ago, I read in Epoch Times how music affects our health, specifically certain classical music. “New research shows that predictable music patterns synchronize with blood pressure, potentially offering a drug-free approach to cardiovascular health. A study conducted in King’s College London found the most effective piece to be Franz Schubert’s “Serenade,” noted for its highly predictable phrase structure”. So I became another subject and I listened and felt calm. I’ve been taking my blood pressure and it really dropped. Our bodies must have many “smell the roses” or hear the universe to survive.
I love this Barry. I have Bach blasting in the background every second I get. I’ll need to add more Schubert to my life. To goat shit and roses and classical music!
I was looking for this thread about music . I used to listen to Paul Simon's "Graceland" , which had a physiological effect like no other. You all have inspired me to give it another listen . Thank you.
I'm not sure if I am misinterpreting something, but this description of awe by Jonathan Haidt makes me think of the father in Cormac McCarthy's "The Road", and how he describes the desolate landscape around him.
Death follows him and his son on every step, danger is lurking everywhere, and still, what he notices the most is the tiny details of the ashen ground up to the grey and silent serpentines of a nearby creek...
It's harrowing, but beautiful and awe-inspiring at the same time!
This is it entirely. It can happen in the strangest most unlikely places. We just need to be here for it when it comes.
Wow an incredible piece!! Thank you!
You’re welcome Don, thank you for jumping in.
Lots of interesting bits to digest here. I will mention that the painting at the beginning of the essay is intense. I sat and looked at it for a good ten minutes. Also, I have met some knuckle draggers in my day, and I am not sure you fall into that category. Your erudition is holding you back from achieving full knuckle dragger status. Always appreciate reading your thoughts Sam.
John Martin is my favorite painter, hands down. If you dug this, check out his other works. Some are dark and yet they put me into an epic, deep feeling place. I appreciate it Matthew.
Similar to Crimean painter, Van Konstantinovich Aivazovsky from the 1800's. Very impactful painting.
Yes! No one did the ocean like him.
I do not know what a knuckle dagger is?
From Wikipedia: Noun. knuckle dragger (plural knuckle draggers) (idiomatic, often derogatory) A large, strong, and rather dimwitted person.
Pretty sure it was not intended to insult. But thank you :)
It reminds me where I came from. To Mathews wonderful point, I wear it with honor.
It is a reference to apes who walk dragging their knuckles on the ground. In English it is used as an idiomatic expression referring to individuals who are not very smart. It can be used as an insult but often in military circles it is worn as a badge of honor meaning that you are one of the gang, you work for a living, etc..
“You work for a living.” Nailed it.
So interesting how a n expression can turn from insult to badge of honor in the right context. Thank you Matthew.
Awe seems to freeze time and let one feel an infinite presence. Intimidating and peaceful at the same time. May be that duality is the essence of nature. However one is able to experience this essence is a gift. Most of the time we stumble into it. Sometimes we are able to just stop in the moment and "see", feel, and know it.
Well said, Bill. It is a gift indeed.
Hell, for some, awe would occur just stepping away from social media and paying attention to the world.
That’s a fact. Now the question how do we get it to happen at scale?
A very thought provoking article, thank you. I have not read Junger's "Fire and Blood" but you have motivated me to so, tks. Cheers.
Rock on. He has a great mind and way of viewing the world, it is infectious.
A few weeks ago, I started doing a 36 hour fast starting Monday evening and beginning again Wednesday morning. Tuesdays made the most sense for my current schedule to go without eating or drinking anything than water throughout the day.
I’m glad it just so happens to be on the same day you release your essays. Good time to absorb the perspectives you put out while I’m “enduring” the most mild and laughable forms of discomfort when considering history or more extreme forms of modern hardship.
Great stuff as always brother.
Excellent routine and an epic one. Water fasting is one of the holy grails, at least for my part. Thank you and I'm stoked you enjoyed it.
“Nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result." — Winston Churchill
"When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” — Samuel Johnson
This about sums it up, Baird. Two hard hitting thinkers.
Nicely done. That book is a favorite of mine, too. You have a great voice.
Rock on, Ivan. I appreciate it. Jünger, his story, and his mind need to make a come back.
I think this spark of life and consciousness exists within and without the skull.
Barry mentioned classical music in another comment. I think that “spark” can be felt there, nature, and elsewhere
Thank you for the insight.
I’m here for it.
This chapter in your
So good, Sam.
Rock on Lou, I appreciate it.
You have certainly found your mentor as a soldier poet in Ernst Jünger. From Storm of Steel onward he embraced a life which you have shared, mutatis mutandis. Like you he embarked on a lifelong quest to create an aesthetic order around his purest responses to his extreme experiences. Jünger was a cool and exceptionally warrior, and a first class thinker and writer.
He became a Catholic at the end of his life.
Aristotle tells us that the original impulse which gives birth to philosophical thinking is a sense of wonder, “thaumazein”, which seens similar to how you use “awe”.
Your description of the combination of magnitude and terror is also discussed by Edmund Burke in his short, insightful and beautifully written “Inquiry into the Meaning of the Sublime and the Beautiful”.
Both you and Jünger are connoisseurs of the sublime.
Chris, thank you for one of the most insightful and perspective comments I’ve gotten to date. Your description of Jünger’s mission, Aristotles θουμαζειν, and Edmund Burke’s sublime are dialed in. The Haidt study had a segment of Burke which led me to his piece, and I realized I felt his exact definition of sublime mid way through Hell Week. I have the bones of the essay teed up. Thank you for your thoughts.
For you the goat shit was “stop and smell the roses” moment. How often we’ve heard that? Many times the world around us bombard us with events that makes us forget to do that, especially when our bodies need it. I love connecting events and coincidentally or by design, a few days ago, I read in Epoch Times how music affects our health, specifically certain classical music. “New research shows that predictable music patterns synchronize with blood pressure, potentially offering a drug-free approach to cardiovascular health. A study conducted in King’s College London found the most effective piece to be Franz Schubert’s “Serenade,” noted for its highly predictable phrase structure”. So I became another subject and I listened and felt calm. I’ve been taking my blood pressure and it really dropped. Our bodies must have many “smell the roses” or hear the universe to survive.
I love this Barry. I have Bach blasting in the background every second I get. I’ll need to add more Schubert to my life. To goat shit and roses and classical music!
I was looking for this thread about music . I used to listen to Paul Simon's "Graceland" , which had a physiological effect like no other. You all have inspired me to give it another listen . Thank you.