Episoder
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Life is comfortable in the ivory tower. You can look down on the rest of the world from the observatory window, seated next to your collection of books chock full of ancient wisdom and quips. The Jedi Order was trapped in this state during the years leading up to the Star Wars prequel trilogy (Episodes I, II, III). The Jedi Council literally sat around at the top of an ivory-looking tower on Coruscant, projecting outward their enlightenment and supernatural power as they looked out on Coruscant from the council chamber. How nice.
Yes, there were Jedi of action. If you weren’t on the Council, you were doing missions more regularly and seeing the real state of the galaxy. But if you moved up the Council, your world would be books, meditation, politics, and endless discussion. This is famously why Qui-Gon Jinn rejected an offer to join the Jedi Council when a seat opened up. During the Clone Wars period, Jedi Council members experienced more regular deployment into the field, leading many to die in battle. But again, it was not the historical norm.
Why am I going on about this?
Philosophy is for living and leading
I too like my books. I like my office. I like sitting in it, with my books, reading, highlighting, and writing about what I absorb. It’s nice and very cozy.
Over the last week though, I’ve been faced with a call to leave the coziness of my office and enter a different space, one I’d say is a bit more uncomfortable and perilous. I didn’t want to answer that call, which I’d received from a number of people in my community, asking me to consider running for City Council in Manassas, Virginia. A lane was open and no one was stepping in to fill it. That means the city gets more of the same in terms of leadership.
I thought of Geeky Stoics, my writing, and my time to be alone and think about philosophy, and I didn’t like the idea at all.
Then I remembered something.
The Stoics were (mostly) doers. Many of the Roman Stoics at their peak were ivory tower types in that they were privileged and powerful, but they were “in the arena” as it were, and engaged in public life. Seneca, advisor to the emperor, a masterful politician, and a former senator. Marcus Aurelius, emperor of Rome, not by blood but by merit. He didn’t want the purple robe of the emperorship, and he feared it greatly. Thomas Jefferson famously passed away with a copy of Seneca by his bedside. John Adams wrote with great knowledge and appreciation of Epictetus and Aurelius, and George Washington also kept the words of Seneca close as he rose into leadership roles in the Continental Army. To say nothing of President Teddy Roosevelt adventuring through the Amazon with Meditations in his backpack…..
Rolling back the clock a bit to Greece, the Stoic known as Cleanthes was known to haul water buckets around on a pole to water the gardens of wealthy homeowners in Athens. He was mocked relentlessly for working to make a living for himself.
Cleanthes was also a boxer for most of his life, before becoming the head of the Stoic school in ancient Greece. He succeeded its founder, a man known as Zeno, and was known for doing things with his hands as a means to strengthen his mind.
“Be a boxer, not a gladiator, in the way you act on your principles. The gladiator takes up his sword only to put it down again, but the boxer is never without his fist and has only to clench it.”
- Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
That’s why Marcus Aurelius wrote fondly of Cleanthes in Meditations, saying one should be a boxer, not a gladiator….because a boxer never lays down his weapon. He carries it with him wherever he goes.
Stoic philosophy was for people “in the field” of life. Not their home office.
Isolated on an island with a library
I’m reminded of Luke Skywalker as seen in Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, where he’s mostly given up on life and the fight against darkness. He is holed up on the island of Ahch-To, hoarding ancient Jedi texts in a library within a tree. It’s not a perfect analogy, but at this time in his life, Luke valued the books more than he did the application of what was inside of them. He had resolved to die alone on the island, and let the way of the Jedi die with him. Yet, he was somehow still really attached to the books. When Master Yoda appears to him to give a much-needed pep talk, Yoda calls on lightning from the sky and sets the tree library ablaze. Luke is horrified. Yoda laughs. He reminds Luke that they are just old books, not page-turners.
The truth (which Luke does not know) is that Rey snuck the books out of the library before leaving the island. As the tree burns, the books are safe, and Yoda knows that. But he wants Luke to feel something real: the pain of letting them go.
We are called to be leaders in the world. Books and studies are for Hobbits in the Shire. The goal for each of us, “Geeky Stoics”, should be to take those books on the road and on great adventures. We’ll miss the simplicity of our old life, Bilbo Baggins certainly did. But these aren’t works of fiction for leisure.
The books on my desk right now: The Bible, Seneca’s Letters from a Stoic, and Meditations, these are field manuals. You take them out into the world.
Y’all, I am terrified of what life looks like from now until November when America goes to vote in the 2024 election. I’ll be on the ballot in Manassas for City Council, and until then I will be spending more time out in the city talking to my neighbors and asking people to support me in my candidacy. I have some ideas for the city I’m excited about, and I really just want to be an open ear for everyday people in my community who feel like the council doesn’t listen to them.
In the months ahead I anticipate being verbally attacked, maligned in mailers, gossiped about on weird Facebook Group pages run by the opposition. I know myself and I know that I like to be liked. It’s gonna hurt when the slings and arrows start flying from people whom I’ve never met and the entrenched local politicians who take offense that anyone would dare challenge their leadership.
I love this bit from comedian John Mulaney in his Netflix special where he talks about how his wife is awesome because she doesn’t care one bit what people think of her. I say this often about my wife, Mel, who ran fearlessly for the city school board in 2022. She took cruel attacks from both sides of the aisle with such stoic grace.
Mulaney goes “When I walk down the street I need everybody…all day long…to like me so much, it’s exhausting! My wife said that walking around with me is like walking with someone running for mayor of nothing.” He goes on to describe how he got a Best Buy Rewards Card once because he didn’t want the employee to be mad at him. Classic.
I’m more like John. I am energized by bringing people together and finding common ground in a divisive world. That lights me up inside. But I have learned good and well that in politics (the arena) there are people who are fueled by the opposite. They love division, foolishness, and slander, and they wake up every day with a sense of paranoia and suspicion. I think power does this to people, even in more small, local elected offices.
“Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness – all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil (right or wrong)……..”
- Marcus Aurelius, part 1 of 2.
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We are designed for cooperation
I’ll wrap this up. Now you know, I’m going to be running for Manassas City Council this year. Nothing changes for Geeky Stoics. I just need to work with my friend and collaborator,
Riley Blanton
, to stay organized so that we’re writing for you on the same regular basis about the philosophy within pop culture. If you want to support me in the campaign, it goes without saying I appreciate it. It’s much needed.
To close, meditate on this passage from Marcus Aurelius, where he speaks about what to expect from each day. He is not being cynical or crude when he says there will be fools and ill-will found in each day. That’s reality. But what he says after the passage above is so important, and often left out when Aurelius’ is quoted.
He reminds himself (and us, the reader he never anticipated having ) that even amidst stupidity and malice, our human duty is to work with others in a gracious spirit. We forgive the slights and attacks because as students of philosophy, we know that we are meant for cooperation with others, just as our hands, feet, and eyelids strive to work in sync.
That is what nature demands of us.
“….But for my part I have long perceived the nature of good and its nobility, the nature of evil and its meanness, and also the nature of the culprit himself, who is my brother (not in the physical sense, but as a fellow creature similarly endowed with reason and a share of the divine); therefore none of those things can injure me, for nobody can implicate me in what is degrading. Neither can I be angry with my brother or fall foul of him; for he and I were born to work together, like a man’s two hands, feet or eyelids, or the upper and lower rows of his teeth. To obstruct each other is against Nature’s law – and what is irritation or aversion but a form of obstruction.”
- Marcus Aurelius, part 2 of 2
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May the Fourth be with you!
What better way to celebrate than to watch a very special, video edition of the Geeky Stoics podcast.
In this episode, and get into it! It is a Star Wars philosophical battle royale (ok, maybe thoughtful discussion) on the ever-controversial concept of "balance” of the Force. Balance is a big deal in Star Wars - it's basically the main job description of the Chosen One. But leave it to a couple of philosophy nerds like us to find 7 ways to interpret exactly what that means.
Stephen kicks things off by critiquing showrunner Leslye Headland’s comments about her vision of balance in the context of the Acolyte series. This sparks a debate on George Lucas's original intent, Jungian psychology, the “gray Jedi,” “shadow self,” and whether darkness can truly co-exist with light.
We always try to approach these discussions from multiple viewpoints while staying true to the philosophical “blender” that is Star Wars storytelling.
May the Force Fourth be with you, friends.
-Riley
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Mangler du episoder?
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“In a given year, you meet (dozens) or more people you spend enough time with to appraise their character. Think about them: How many do you think are decent, normal people who do volunteer work, help shovel after a storm, look out for family and neighbors?”
This is a question asked often by Jim VandeHei of Axios when he’s speaking to audiences across the country, and it’s an important one. Do you think of the real human beings in your personal network as someone who’d chip in when there’s a need? I do. Most certainly. How can it be then, that when I think of online personalities and digital acquaintances, I am less certain?
Perhaps, it’s because I don’t know them. Perhaps, all I have to operate on is my impressions of those people.
What they look like, how they dress, the way they speak.
Is it possible that our media ecosystem is designed to obscure reality? It’s not a novel suggestion. In fact, most people understand this. We call this the “echo chamber”, and everyone more or less chooses which one they want to be in. In the echo chambers, America is a deeply divided place with a civic culture broken to pieces by radicalism and distrust.
Before you continue….
Paid Subscribers to Geeky Stoics should scroll to the very bottom of the post for login information to our monthly First Friday video hangout. This happens tomorrow at 12:30 PM EST, May 3rd.
Geeky Stoics’ next book club is on C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. Sign up below by clicking the button if you’re interested. We’ll meet on Sunday evenings in May and discuss this iconic book about good & evil and also be joined by some special guest experts on Lewis and Tolkien.
About that division….What if it’s not true? What if this thing we feel and experience in our online lives is an illusion? Check out this survey by AP-NORC, which shows the opposite of what so many expect when it comes to public opinion on heated issues of the day.
Remember, test your impressions. Your focus determines your reality.
If you want to live in a world of distrust, radicalism, and division, then you keep doing what you’re doing online and in your news consumption habits. If you don’t want that, maybe…as they say…touch grass.
“From the very beginning, make it your practice to say to every harsh impression, ‘You are an impression and not at all what you appear to be.’ Next, examine and test it by the rules you possess, the first and greatest of which is this—whether it belongs to the things in our control or not in our control, and if the latter, be prepared to respond, ‘It is nothing to me.’”—Epictetus, Enchiridion, 1.5
More on Alex Garland’s Civil War + video hangout links for Paid Subscribers can be found below. Have a great weekend my friends.
I couldn’t get this out of my mind while I was sitting in the movie theater for Alex Garland’s, Civil War, starring Kirsten Dunst: The disconnect between public perception about the movie and the movie itself. It’s a brilliant and beautiful movie that I can’t recommend enough. The movie got a rough reaction when the trailers first dropped. Commentators and Twitter-dwellers were suspicious of the political intentions of the movie, which is par for the course for a film premised on America’s political divisions devolving into total war.
Yes, the movie is about a second American Civil War. No, it has nothing to do with the political headlines of the day. Remarkably, the movie never even addresses the reason for the war. Audiences are just dropped into the final weeks of the conflict, at a time when people don’t even remember what is was all for in the first place.
First impressions were all about journalists being the main characters.
Must be a puff-piece film for pious journos.
Must be an anti-Trump January 6th propaganda movie.
Texas and California allied in a fictional civil war? Impossible.
How can people live like this? Just making baseless assumptions about the message or practicality of a movie on 2-minute trailers? In the end, A24’s Civil War was nothing like what the Twitter Class said it would be. I almost let them fool me and set my impression of the movie without seeing it.
It’s funny. Civil War is about photojournalism in the heat of war. You have characters working film cameras and snapping a hundred shots in any given situation, collecting all sorts of information in incredibly stressful situations and under duress. Then there are quiet moments where they look through the film, knowing that out of every 100 images, only one will maybe be worth publishing.
What is that if not the perfect analogy for all the impressions we receive about the world on any given day? We sort through mountains of s**t “photographs” every day, looking hard and with discernment for the one that is true. The one impression or image that is representative of objective reality.
Geeky Stoics video hangout for First Friday
Save this to your calendar!
First Friday Hangout - GS
Friday, May 3 · 12:30 – 1:15pm EST
Time zone: America/New_York EST
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/vmq-yesu-soc
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How closely do you guard the start of your day? That alarm clock sits by the bedside or maybe a few feet from the door (if you’re clever) and it calls you to a commitment you made the night before. When the sleep is good, or even more so when the sleep was bad until about 3 AM, this otherwise small battle feels like a D-Day level effort.
This can be the first victory of the day or the first defeat.
You know how these things cascade. You hit snooze one too many times, miss the chance to shower, then scramble to the closet and throw on mismatched socks, and then you’ve missed a chance to have a decent breakfast. Money in the bank account is low, but your credit card can handle a quick Dunkin Donuts combo, right? So you break that promise to yourself too.
It’s funny how much like the Hero’s Journey our daily lives can be. The iconic arc of hero characters begins with The Ordinary—> The Call To Adventure—> Refusal Of The Call. What is the morning routine if not this first sequence of narrative storytelling?
These crossroads moments come to define our lives faster than I’m comfortable admitting. If what Albert Camus said is true, that “Our lives are the sum of our choices,” then putting off that First Defeat seems wise.
I’ll share what I try to guard daily: 6 AM wake up at the latest, one mile walk with the dog, then coffee, then I write something. I try to do all of this before checking email or any social media. I fail a lot, but the days I win….boy do I love it. Those days rock!
“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?”
-Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
BTW! A new video out now from Geeky Stoics.
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How many social media posts have you made this week? Think about it for a few seconds. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or even Reddit. What were you hoping to communicate to the world in those posts? Were there other posts you drafted and then deleted after coming to your senses about the perils of hitting Post?
I can think of a few deleted Tweets from the past week, and quite a few more that stayed up even though I felt immediate regret.
Why did I need to say that?
Why do these 10 Likes and 3 Comments motivate me like a demonic possession to proclaim every half-baked thought or observation I have about the world?
It doesn’t have to be this way.
In a little over a week, I’m going to see Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace in theaters! It’s being given a theatrical re-release for May 4th. I can’t wait. We talk a lot about Episode I on Geeky Stoics, primarily because….Qui-Gon Jinn.
As a Jedi, he is a man of few words. He speaks plenty throughout the film, but unlike the younger Obi-Wan Kenobi or the foolish Jar Jar Binks, he just comes across as highly intentional about every word. His words cut like a knife. When Qui-Gon speaks, you get the sense it must be important.
“The ability to speak does not make you intelligent”
When the Jedi first meet Jar Jar Binks in the swamps of Naboo, Jar Jar is basically standing in the way of traffic, about to get run over by incoming military vehicles. Qui-Gon and Jar Jar collide and the Jedi pins the blathering Gungan to the ground until the danger has passed.
Qui-Gon is not pleased. “What are you, brainless?” he asks, rather harshly.
Jar Jar answers, “I speak”, as if this answers the Jedi’s question.
“The ability to speak does not make you intelligent-” Qui-Gon says.
Indeed. It’s fitting then that later in the movie, Jar Jar gets his tongue grabbed by Qui-Gon Jinn at the dinner table.
Every day we should ask ourselves if what we’re saying to others is truly worth saying. Are we speaking in order to add value for the recipient, or are we speaking to assuage the voice of ego deep inside that is convinced our every word is wise and interesting?
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” - James 1:19
I remember an old boss of mine got angry with the staff at a morning meeting because the brainstorming sessions were too quiet. No one was speaking up. He reminded us all that we’re paid to speak up and share our thoughts. So people started speaking. The problem, of course, is that the most obtuse individuals were doing almost all of the talking. The egomaniacs and brown nosers knew the incentive structure was to make sounds with their faces, even if it was corporate drivel and buzzword salad.
This balancing act is delicate. You need to reject fear and speak up at meetings, but you don’t want to slip into speaking for its own sake.
The ability to speak does not make you intelligent. Say this to yourself every now and then. Maybe it’ll help you discern which words on the tip of your tongue are worth pushing out.
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The Talking People
The need for me to do this in my own life is pretty pressing. I do TV news from time to time, to talk about politics and current events. And if I had a dollar for every time I spoke for longer than was necessary or said something regrettable…..well, you know, I’d have a lot of dollars.
But the incentive structure on TV news is to speak and speak often. They don’t book wallflowers for political segments. So you come up with something to say, even if it doesn’t need saying. It’s rather toxic. After doing lots of TV for about 5 years, I found myself being more loose with what I’d say in casual conversation with friends and family.
The TV people want me to speak, why doesn’t everyone else?
When my daughter was little, she called TV news “the talking people”. If was going on TV, she’d say “Have fun with the talking people, Daddddddy.”
I did have fun with them. Always have. But there’s a cost…..which is, lots of things spoken on the record I might later wish were not. You don’t even get paid to be a guest on the news. So even in raw financial terms, it’s often not worth it.
But I do it, still, it’s part of my job. My only aim now is to try and be better, more precise, and more like Qui-Gon. I want to have a tongue that, when deployed for political discourse, actually cuts. It’s a work in progress.
Our political system elevates talkers. Have you noticed?
Perhaps, we could try and remember politicians like Cato the Younger, who in the late Roman Republic had developed a reputation for both fiery speech and deadly silence. When he spoke, people listened. When he was quiet, people wanted to know why.
“Cato practiced the kind of public speech capable of moving the masses, believing proper political philosophy takes care like any great city to maintain the warlike element. But he was never seen practicing in front of others, and no one ever heard him rehearse a speech. When he was told that people blamed him for his silence, he replied, ‘Better they not blame my life. I begin to speak only when I’m certain what I’ll say isn’t better left unsaid.’”—Plutarch on Cato the Younger
Have a great week my friends. Remember, the ability to speak does not make you intelligent. Consider deleting that Tweet, or saving that post as a Draft and walking away for a few hours. You might be surprised at how much people listen when you’re known to be careful with your tongue.
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Author Eric Clayton thinks BIG about Star Wars. Like us at Geeky Stoics, he’s been a lifelong fan of the galaxy far, far away and Star Wars has folded into Eric’s views about God and human spirituality. My interview with Eric covers a few chapters of his book, My Life With The Jedi and we focus on turning perceived weaknesses into strengths, letting go of the desire for control, and the principle of indifference as an Ignatian practice. This is something that students of Stoicism should recognize in their own philosophy.
Both Marcus Aurelius and Seneca wrote about the importance of practicing indifference, regarding physical comfort and the events of nature.
“Nothing that is according to nature can be evil,” said Aurelius. Seneca was known to practice living in poverty every month so that he could be reminded that life beyond the Roman halls of power was nothing to be feared. Aurelius and Seneca each wanted to be indifferent to situations both desirable and undesirable.
If you can do that, you have a better shot at behaving virtuously in good times and bad times. Seems like a worthy goal, no?
Turns out, Star Wars has a lot to say about indifference. In this conversation, you’ll learn about that and much more. Be sure to go check out My Life With The Jedi by .
Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.geekystoics.com/subscribe -
Happy Friday, Geeky Stoics! I hope you all had a positive week. Today I’ve got a short reflection on Stoicism and emotion, and whether or not the two can co-exist. A popular criticism of the philosophy is that it’s “cold” and “harsh”. I strongly disagree and will use Ahsoka from Star Wars as a case study in ‘stoic’ as a character trait.
First, two questions for you all.
* Do you enjoy or make use of the Audio versions of our articles? Or do you listen to the Geeky Stoics podcast? It takes quite a bit of additional effort to produce and is time-consuming. Audio is one of my favorite parts of doing Geeky Stoics, but do you make use of it?
* We have a new video up on YouTube that is in many ways the thesis statement of what Geeky Stoics is all about.
Have you watched it yet? We’d love to see more readers Subscribe to the YouTube channel and leave comments, reactions, and feedback on the videos. Discussion is a goal of our community, and we’d love to hear from you and get more well-acquainted.
Ahsoka the Stoic, Ahsoka the Rock
Ahsoka has to be my favorite of all the recent Star Wars movies and shows. Having been an adolescent when the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series was playing on TV, I’ve grown up with Ahsoka Tano, the wartime padawan of Anakin Skywalker. I’m not surprised by the mixed response to the live-action show, where actress Rosario Dawson plays a grown-up Ahsoka, but I am a bit surprised by some of the complaints fans have expressed.
Here are a few that stuck out: “Ahsoka is too stoic”, “Ahsoka is soulless” and “Ahsoka has no emotion”. In other words, “Ashoka should smile more” or something.
'To be like the rock that the waves keep crashing over. It stands unmoved and the raging of the sea falls still around it.'
-Marcus Aurelius
Star Wars fans have seen the other side of Ahsoka Tano when she was a Jedi pupil. Tano was an impulsive, bratty, brash, annoying, overly sensitive, and disrespectful young Jedi. She and Anakin were a perfect fit. Fast forward to the Ahsoka series and she is around 47 years old. Ahsoka has grappled with her choice to leave the Jedi Order, her guilt over its destruction, and the fall of Anakin Skywalker to evil. She watched the Empire rise and fall and Ahsoka even attempted to train Jedi padawans herself, such as Sabine Wren, with little success.
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Ahsoka has a heaviness about her that is visible to anyone watching the show. At times you wonder, why isn’t she blowing her lid right now or reacting in anger to this situation or that?
When critics malign Ahsoka’s temperament or the acting of Rosario Dawson as being devoid of emotion, what is really being criticized is the character’s unwillingness to display what we all know she feels inside.
Ahsoka doesn’t emote like she used to as a child.
Reflection is not repression
Stoicism is most commonly criticized for being a cold and callous school of philosophy that encourages the repression of emotion. But it’s not true.
As writer and contemporary stoic Ryan Holiday put it on The Daily Show with Jordan Klepper,
“There’s a difference between being angry, and doing something out of anger.” There is an ocean between feeling anger and indignation over the foolishness of another person, and then “hitting Send on the email dressing them down for it.”
Ahsoka has learned not to hit Send.
I’m reminded of Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn in The Phantom Menace when he must negotiate with the junk dealer and slave owner, Watto, in order to get their starship repaired so Queen Amidala can be delivered to Naboo. Their mission is of massive consequence to the galaxy, and failure could mean political chaos in the Republic.
Watto, not knowing this (and he wouldn’t care either way), has the gall to resist Qui-Gon’s “Jedi Mind Trick” and reject Republic currency for the spare parts they need.
You know Qui-Gonn is furious. But he does not speak, he just observes Watto and forces out a visibly angry “smile” before walking away from the situation. Jinn could easily kill or subdue Watto and take what is needed.
Jedi are not without emotion. Neither are the Stoics of our world, past and present.
Stoics were awash in emotion. They had romantic relationships, they had children, and they were politicians confronting fear, suspicion, and doubt in their midst. The most enduring of the Stoics, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, buried nine children in his lifetime. He buried his wife, Faustina. When his beloved tutor died, it is said that Aurelius sobbed uncontrollably. His stepfather, Antoninus, told the younger Marcus, “Neither philosophy nor empire takes away natural feeling.”
Feelings are facts of life. It is a rare and dangerous few who walk this earth without them. Stoics fight not against their emotions, but for an understanding of where their emotions are coming from.
They sit with their feelings. They search them for meaning.
Ahsoka has learned how to do this, and for people accustomed to reactive behavior and emotive expression, it can be very offputting.
If you think something is funny, why aren’t you LOLing?! If you think something is sad, why aren’t you crying or TELLING the world you’re crying on social media?
That’s how those people think. If you live your life trying to meet their standard of emotive expression, you’ll be constantly performing emotion in order to make them feel at ease. Don’t do this.
The Stoic treats emotion like a cloaked visitor who has knocked on their door. They open the door, greet the visitor, and ask them to reveal their identity before coming inside. Anger is often actually Fear, Disgust can stem from Confusion, and Joy sometimes becomes a lingering Sadness. We call that nostalgia or homesickness.
When you learn to answer the door in this way, you’re doing what the best Jedi do with their emotions. They are not suppressed, they are examined. When you take the time to examine your feelings, you’ll be more like what everyday people call ‘stoic’ in your character.
Steady. Reliable. Patient. Sturdy.
May the Force be with you.
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Stephen Kent of Geeky Stoics lists off similarities between Stoic Philosophy and Star Wars.
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In Dune, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) does not want to be the ruler of his people. His father, Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) of the House Atreides, aims to help him down that path as gently as possible. Like many young characters at the start of their Hero’s Journey, Paul does not want the responsibility of power. He doesn’t crave its weight. Leto would have preferred to be a pilot himself, but here he is, a monarchal ruler instead.
It’s a classic motif. Young princes don’t know how to be kings. Princesses don't know how to be queens. Girls aren’t born knowing how to be wives and boys don’t know how to be good husbands. Lord knows none of us “know” how to parents and raise successful, happy children. We just make it up as we go.
Of course, we hopefully had role models to learn from and base our understanding on. A young man’s best hope for knowing how to be a decent husband is by having a father in his life who loves and honors the mother. If you don’t have that, social networks and stories can fill the void to a certain extent. Human beings love stories. And we are discretely taking notes from them throughout our lives.
You might come from a family where literally no one has courage of any kind, and so you develop all of your understanding of courage from Peter in C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe…or from Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games.
Speaking of C.S. Lewis, he has a remarkable observation about this very problem when it comes to the Christian life, which he outlines in the final chapters of his classic, Mere Christianity. In it, Lewis endorses what you might call roleplaying (cosplaying) the Christian in order to become the Christian. We’re all like “little Christs” or “toy soldiers” trying to be as close to the real thing as possible.
And the truth is, we’ll never feel like we’ve reached the end destination.
I doubt Duke Leto Atredies feels as though he is truly a king deep down. He wears the mask of one.
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He knows how to move like one and dress like one.
The moment a person such as Leto thinks of himself as a monarch with immense power, that’s when power begins to corrupt its wielder.
Much better to think of one’s self as a father, patriot, son or husband who happens to be a king than to look in the mirror and see only royalty.
I think we’ve lost sight of what “role model” is supposed to mean in our language. It’s not a blanket term meant to describe anyone in a position of power or influence. It’s a person who is modeling how to perform a certain role you may also have to play in this life.
The boss. The spouse. The parent. The friend. The teacher.
These are common roles. Yet we most often hear ‘role model’ deployed when talking about or criticizing the behavior of celebrities.
I don’t think it’s correct to say “Taylor Swift is a good role model” or “Taylor Swift is a bad role model” because it’s unclear to me what role she would even be modeling for your typical young girl.
“International pop star” is not a role that you are likely to play compared to citizen, neighbor, sibling, or mentor. Maybe the celebrity is modeling either humility or gluttony when it comes to their fame. Perhaps what they model for us is how to handle overwhelming success and public attention. Maybe the celebrity is modeling the role of “the blessed”.
I never intend to be dismissive, especially not of our Great American Monarch, Queen Taylor Swift.
The beauty of the scene in Dune which we began with today is how Duke Leto responds to Paul’s uncertainty and doubt. After Leto’s encouragement, Paul asks, “Dad, what if I’m not…..the future of House Atreides.”
Leto answers gently, “A great man doesn't seek to lead; he is called to it. But if your answer is no, you'd still be the only thing I ever needed you to be: my son.”
I’ve been thinking on and off about this for weeks now. I confided in a friend at church that I was struggling with how to be the kind of Dad my daughter needs me to be. And he prayed with me, and in his wisdom, knowing I love tying everything back to movies…spoke about this scene in Dune.
He did that because this moment between Father and Son is a scene about roles, responsibility, duty, and fear….but it’s also about love. The Father loves his son. He loves Paul because he is his son, not because Paul does or does not want to step up and be a ruler.
My friend reminded me that I’m covered. That God is with me in this walk, and that I’m already everything He and my child need me to be.
Sometimes, just being present and existing in your kid’s life is all that is required. Seriously, that may be the truth of it. You don’t have to be a fount of wisdom and clever anecdotes, and you don’t have to have an answer for every question. You just have to be there.
Showing up to play the role is all you ever had to do.
After all, your story isn’t a scripted stage play with lines to remember.
It’s improv.
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Thanks for reading Geeky Stoics. This is a newsletter, podcast and YouTube channel all about finding the wisdom worth living by in your favorite movies, books, and shows. I’m and I do this with my friend and collaborator, .
Hey fun fact, I’m contributing a little bit to a new Substack called . They have great articles going up about being a Dad. Highly recommend. A year ago I appeared on their YouTube show for a feature-length interview about Star Wars and parenting. If you missed that, it’s a fun conversation!
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In the new live-action adaptation of Airbender, Uncle Iroh is reflecting on the suffering of his nephew, Prince Zuko, who has been banished from home for not being as cutthroat and ruthless as his father would like him to be. Zuko tries very hard to impress his father, but Zuko has a big heart, and it makes the task impossible.
Zuko lives his life day to day not being his true self, not letting that heart show. The reason is simple. Showing his heart got him hurt very badly when his father laid fire to half of his face as a punishment for it.
It breaks Iroh’s heart. Zuko should not have to wear the mask of a brute to make his father proud. That is a burden no child should have to carry.
So Iroh begins to speak about the power of Masks. Here is what he says:
It's amazing how far we'll go to hide our true selves from the world.
Perhaps it's because we don't want people to know how much they really mean to us. Which is funny.
Because the truth is, we would do anything for them.
We'd travel incredible distances, risk our lives, even fight monsters.
But I suppose it can be scary to admit you need people.
Some might see that as a weakness, a liability.
After all, what greater pain is there than losing someone you love?
Or worse, finding out someone you love has left you behind.
I guess that's why we feel the need to hide away and protect ourselves.
So we put on a mask.
It's not hard to understand why.
What's hard is knowing that sometimes, the mask is who we really are.
What masks do you wear? I wear a few.
Not all are bad. Some are good.
When I do TV or public speaking I put on the mask of a confident person. It’s necessary because I am terrified. The mask gives me some needed strength.
When I am with my daughter I wear the “Dad Mask”. As Dad, I don’t overburden her with my problems, I don’t share what’s not in the bank account, I don’t overplay the fact that 75% of the time I don’t know what to do about anything……because she needs the feeling of security. It takes courage to wear that mask as a parent. There will be times when that mask needs to come off, and that will require bravery as well.
We play certain roles to stay alive or make it in this world.
My hope is that by reading this email today, you’ll begin to think about what masks play a role in your life, and be able to at least name them. When you are conscious of what they are, and when you put them on, you’ll have better control over their role in your life. But that does take reflection. Take that time today.
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Insights from C.S. Lewis and George Washington on being better than we actually are. Turns out “fake it to make it” might actually be a decent mantra for self-improvement.
This is Geeky Stoics. A Podcast and Newsletter about the wisdom to be found in popular culture.
TRANSCRIPT
I've been thinking a lot lately about imposter syndrome and when exactly I'm going to feel like the person I one day wish to be.
There's a future me out there who I believe is more disciplined and entrepreneurial, creative, brave, and patient.
When is he going to arrive?
There's a lot that I want to say on this subject.
It's one that I refer to as self-actualization, and I'm going to share two insights with you on that, one from C.S.
Lewis and another from George Washington biographer Richard Brookhiser.
In Mere Christianity, a book by C.S.
Lewis, he lays out the practical path to being a Christian.
Contrary to what many in the world teach, particularly in the church, Lewis offers a poetic case for what you might recognize as fake it to make it.
At some point, we have to decide, I am an artist.
I am an author.
I am a Christian.
I am a soldier.
Declaring it so might actually be your best hope of realizing it in the real world.
This is CS Lewis.
When you are not feeling particularly friendly but know you ought to be, the best thing you can do very often is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you were a nicer person than you actually are.
And in a few minutes, as we have all noticed, you will be really feeling friendlier than you were.
Just by pretending.
Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it all along.
Pretending.
C.S.
Lewis, ever the fan of imaginative play and make-believe, suggests here that to be more Christ-like, a believer's best hope is to role-play.
Your heart may never be fully transformed in this life, but you're better served by pretending that it is.
Do this every single day in every walk of your life that you see as important.
Fatherhood, motherhood, marriage, career, creativity, spirituality.
Now, in George Washington on Leadership, a book by Richard Brookhiser, he tells of how Washington would inspire his troops throughout his military career.
Washington's letters and accounts of Washington
At war, show that the famed General and Father of America often referred to his colleagues as, quote, my brave fellows when addressing them.
My brave fellows, I ask you to reenlist.
My brave fellows, fight.
Richard Brookhiser says, maybe they would go home or run away and not be brave at all, but Washington would get them to be brave by telling them that they are.
Now imagine if you went through life like the Cowardly Lion and the Wizard of Oz, both being told that you're a coward and telling it to yourself every single day.
And then someone comes along and tells you that you could be brave and even that perhaps you already are brave.
Anybody who's raised kids knows that this kind of rhetorical nudge matters a heck of a lot in helping kids realize their potential.
Start being the person you want to be today.
Tell yourself you are that person.
You might find that by saying it, you hold yourself closer to the standards of that future you that you want to one day arrive.
This is a complex subject.
You know, you don't want to fake.
You don't want to be disingenuous.
You don't want to be unreal.
You also don't want to, you know, carry a sort of hubris like you're better than you are.
This is, of course, the nature of balance.
You want to try to get these things in balance with one another.
But you do have to aspire to be that future version of yourself.
And that might just mean that you have to role play it and act it out every single day.
I hope you can find that balance.
I'm Stephen Kent and you're listening to the Geeky Stoics Podcast.
You can find out more about what we do, finding wisdom in pop culture, books, TV, and movies over at geekystoics.com.
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It'll help you get your day off to a good start.
That's what we aim for here and hope that you have a wonderful end of the week and a great weekend.
Be well and we'll see you soon.
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I am constantly anxious about the future. What about you? This is a state of being that is entirely natural and is a gift human beings have been given to contemplate what’s coming tomorrow and plan accordingly. It’s also torture. Never is our mind 100 percent in the moment, focused on where we are and what we are doing. This was Luke Skywalker’s problem in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back as he trained to be a Jedi with Yoda. And it had always been his problem, even when he was back home on Tatooine. His mind wanders anxiously, a stew of anxiety, worry, hope, and dreams for his life.
In a new book by titled My Life With The Jedi, Clayton tells his story of walking through life with Star Wars and Ignatian spirituality. I’m only a few chapters deep but wanted to share it with you as soon as possible since the book just released this week.
Anxiety is a terrible thing to waste, actually.
[More on this after a quick sidenote]
IT’S SUNDAY SO IT’S VIDEO PREMIERE TIME
Speaking of new things, something else new that is releasing right this very moment is our latest Geeky Stoics video chronicling our recent trip to Atlanta Comic Con. In Atlanta we tabled, promoted Geeky Stoics and led programs on Star Wars, Empathy, and Stoicism.
In the video, I outline where Star Wars & Stoicism intersect, and thanks to the wizard video editing of you’ll also see some of the highlights from our trip. Subscribers to Geeky Stoics make this kind of content possible. Thank you for your support!
As I was saying….Anxiety is a terrible thing to waste, actually. It signals certain truths to us that we shouldn't ignore about our purpose and what is important to us. The calling of a Jedi is to be mindful and to be able to assess their feelings. They should be patient and recognize the validity of their feelings. Direct them toward something useful, but be patient, for one tried and true law of all progress is that these things take time.
Accept the anxiety of feeling yourselfin suspense and incomplete.
In My Life With The Jedi, Clayton shares a prayer from French Jesuit, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin that I wanted to pass along to you. Acceptance is its foundation. Read when you have a quiet moment alone, and I hope it speaks to you as you prepare for the week ahead.
PATIENT TRUST
Above all, trust in the slow work of God.We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay.We should like to skip the intermediate stages.We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new.
And yet it is the law of all progressthat it is made by passing through some stages of instability—and that it may take a very long time.
And so I think it is with you;your ideas mature gradually—let them grow,let them shape themselves, without undue haste.Don’t try to force them on,as though you could be today what time(that is to say, grace and circumstances acting on your own good will)will make of you tomorrow.
Only God could say what this new spiritgradually forming within you will be.Give Our Lord the benefit of believingthat his hand is leading you,and accept the anxiety of feeling yourselfin suspense and incomplete.
-Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
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If someone can prove me wrong and show me my mistake in any thought or action, I shall gladly change. I seek the truth, which never harmed anyone: the harm is to persist in one's own self-deception and ignorance.
Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
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Thank you to all our subscribers for the positive feedback on our most recent newsletter about the stoicism of Zorro, the 1998 film starring Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins. It was fun to branch out beyond our usual focus on sci-fi and fantasy and riff about this awesome folk tale of revenge and justice. This email is the podcast version of Sunday’s newsletter and just a quick plug of our most recent videos on Geeky Stoics’ YouTube Channel + an appearance of your favorite Geeky Stoic on Breaking Bread with Adam Coleman. Mr. Coleman is a commentary writer and for this video series, he travels to meet other writers in their home, have a meal, and talk about politics and life. If you like that kind of thing, you’ll enjoy it!
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This week on the Geeky Stoics MEGACAST, Riley and Stephen recap their experience promoting Star Wars & Stoicism at Atlanta Comic Con.
Stephen provides a brief Stoicism 101 for geeks, explaining the four virtues of courage, wisdom, justice, and temperance and how they shine throughout Star Wars.
We also discuss the cultural significance of Star Wars and nostalgia. Riley reflects on how the franchise influenced his identity and friendships.
Listen in for behind-the-scenes banter about how we tackled our first Con as the Geeky Stoics and our plans for the future.
Geeky Stoics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
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In Star Wars, Padme had enjoyed many years of a thriving political career. She had been free of the sort of distraction and messiness that a forbidden romance might bring into her life. Throughout the movie, as she resists her desire for Anakin Skywalker, at times quite awkwardly for both of them, she is almost in a kind of grieving stage for her more tidy and simple life.
By the time Padme and Anakin are captured on a mission and sentenced to death, she sort of feels like the “old her” is dead already.
We transform throughout our lives. We let certain versions of ourselves die so that new ones can live. They can’t always coexist. Never changing would be horrible.
Let it happen. There are worse things than dying.
Read more at GeekyStoics.com
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Uncle Iroh says many wise things to Zuko over the course of his time running the tea business, a short period of bliss during Airbender’s second season. Here’s what stuck out to me today. It’s simple.
“Follow your passion and life will reward you”
In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Zuko is frustrated with Uncle Iroh and his simple passion for running this tea shop. Zuko has a claim to the throne of the Fire Nation and is on a mission to reclaim his “honor” from a father who exiled him from the kingdom. Zuko is obsessed with retaking his place. Uncle Iroh implores Zuko to search himself, look inward, and determine once and for all if his passion is truly his own, or if it flows from the expectations of his cruel father.
Perhaps you can relate.
MUSIC: All copyright belongs to their respective owners. Avatar The Last Airbender Themes by Jeremy Zuckerman Arranged and Orchestrated by Samuel Kim.
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Star Wars is a saga about one thing: Letting go. All of its main characters must learn to confront the fear of failure and loss, things beyond their control. It’s a message we all need to hear more of, and it’s what Geeky Stoics is all about.
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Live or die. This is the message from the ghost of Anakin Skywalker to his grown-up apprentice, Ahsoka Tano. Not many of us want to die. Ahsoka doesn’t either. But she was living as if she were dead. That is the message. Are you living your life, moving forward and for tomorrow? Or are you stuck in the past, reliving past successes and stewing on yesterdays failures?
Thank you for listening to Geeky Stoics.More on this at geekystoics.com
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https://www.youtube.com/@GeekyStoics/videos
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Life will be a lot cheaper when you’re dead.
Pay the taxes. Anticipate and accept the hidden costs. Understand that you truly own very little. Most of what you have is borrowed, so don’t overly invest yourself in hoarding it. Once you’ve sincerely thought over the hidden costs, decide if you truly need this thing, person, or job to be happy.
Above all else, be thankful for the things and the people who pass in and out of your life. Gratitude has the power to reframe everything.
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