It takes two to speak the truth...

Two short videos, an in-person event, and a book excerpt

Hi everyone, here are two short video clips. The first is about the limitations of outsourcing belief to evidence, and how technology is making it more and more obvious that we must choose what to believe and in so doing, who to be. Watch here.

The second is a tidbit about the generative power of listening. Watch here.

These are both from the retreat I hosted in Maine last month. I’m hosting another, smaller one at the end of August at Omega. Registration link. Last time I announced this I gave the wrong link. Anyway, these two videos exemplify the kind of information we will work with at Omega. I called the event “Story Medicine” because I had to provide a title like a year ago, but I think it will be more around the space between stories.

You’ll notice that the price listed by Omega is lower than for all their other workshops. That is because it subtracts the portion that normally goes to the teacher. It covers your room and board. Beyond that, those who attend can pay whatever feels appropriate, right, clean, and respectful of your financial condition—it could be zero even.

I’ve been working really hard on my book. I just did a word count: it’s around 35,000. I think that’s about a third of what the first draft will be. I’m entering the phase where it seems endless, like I’ll never finish it, but I know from experience that at some point all of a sudden the destination will swing into view.

I think you can connect with that feeling, which visits a lot of situations, not just writing a book. Like raising a child. It seems endless, then all of a sudden its almost over, he’s a teenager. Where did all those years go? Ah, those precious times. This precious life. Endless and so short.

I’m looking for a short excerpt from my book to share with you. The search reminds me why I am writing a book in the first place—when I extract and decontextualize any passage, it becomes something other than what I intended. It sounds cliched, or silly. It invites the reader to make some obvious objection: “Wait, you haven’t thought of this! You haven’t thought of that!”

Notwithstanding all that, here are a couple paragraphs.

Have you had the experience of hearing, “I love you,” and pushing it away, thinking, “If only she knew. If only she saw the real me.” And maybe making a case for yourself that you may deserve some love. After all, your missteps aren’t so very terrible. Not as bad as some people’s. And you were quite justified that one time. At least there were some mitigating circumstances. It wasn’t your fault. Your inner defense attorney makes the case that you do in fact deserve love. Ah, but now the prosecutor enters. The Accuser. The Inquisitor. The Judge. They demolish your alibis. They find you guilty. And you carry that conviction on your permanent record as a secret, pretending it isn’t so, and therefore believing you do not deserve love.

There is a truth in that conviction. You do not “deserve” love. Love comes whether you deserve it or not, whether you have earned it or not. Love, and all you have struggled for in the inner courtroom. This is the meaning of mercy. The giver does not review the court records and decide that you are worthy after all. She does not even enter the courtroom.

Because I’m working on this book, my publishing on Substack will be scanty. If you do a paid subscription anyway, basically you are supporting the book writing. You can also donate on my website. Thanks everyone!

Charles