“No man has the right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training. It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable." -SocratesOn a recent 1800 mile road trip, I found my thoughts wandering to the state of physical fitness … Continue reading On Fitness
life
Honorable Exile
In November 2008, Barack Obama, a junior senator from Illinois, was elected President of the United States. On January 20th, 2009, George W. Bush stepped down as the 43rd President and retreated to the quiet of West Texas. He managed to stay out of the public eye, and spent much of his time on charities for wounded veterans, relaxing with his family, or on the golf course. As tempting as it may have been, he refrained from weighing in on the impassioned public debates as they unfolded across his television over the next 8 years: hot-button issues such as universal healthcare, closing Guantanamo, the Iranian nuclear program, and climate change.
Lessons From Daedalus
The tale of Icarus and his wings of wax is one of the more famous classical myths. It tells of a talented Athenian craftsman named Daedalus who was trapped on the island of Crete with his son Icarus. Daedalus, you see, had built an unsolvable labyrinth to contain a beast called the Minotaur for the King of Crete near the King's palace in Knossos. When the King imprisoned the great hero Theseus in the Labyrinth to be killed by the Minotaur, Daedalus helped Theseus escape by giving him a special spool of string. For this, Daedalus and his son Icarus were themselves imprisoned within the Labyrinth.
On Shadows
We have a shadow, says Jung. A reservoir for human darkness. A place where everything we choose not to accept about ourselves exists. Whether we acknowledge it or not, it is buried behind all the desirable aspects of our psyche. It is our 'dark side', trained and caged by societal and cultural norms. But every once in awhile, we see it manifest itself. We see it rear its ugly head.
The American Mythos
The National Anthem is one of the only songs other than the Marine Corps Hymn that gives me the chills. The story it tells of Fort McHenry reflects the deepest good of the American people. It takes a special kind of person to live for something larger than themselves. To be willing to lay down … Continue reading The American Mythos
Karl Marlantes on Heroism
The word "hero" has taken on a much broader definition in recent years, diminishing the meaning for all. You served on a FOB in the Air Force? You're a hero. You worked as an admin clerk? You're a hero. The lines of what actually makes a hero are so blurred, that almost anything qualifies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvzpxW8mvrw
The Destruction of the Sacred
"Nothing is Sacred," says Man. "Nothing is sacred save SCIENCE!" "We've christened Science, Omni-Science. All-knowing. Infallible. And incompatible with Religion. With ritual. With tradition. And so we've cast religion out. We've burned our Holy Books. We've made our devout, the heretics, and our heretics, the devout. We've erased the divine standard of morality. Man gives law unto … Continue reading The Destruction of the Sacred
THIS LIFE OF OURS
The next morning he opened his eyes to darkness. The clock said 5:42. She was fast asleep as an island next to him, and would remain there for at least four more hours. He got up, put some running clothes on, and took off down the road along his three and half mile morning trail. He had managed to stay in excellent health, despite an injury to his knee he received in Afghanistan. It bothered him the first mile, but after that it became almost unnoticeable.
THYMOS 