1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,920 (Auto-generated)Welcome back, welcome back, you wonderful people who matter so much to me. 2 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:38,440 Hello very, very much. I'm WS Walker and when I sat down and really thought about it, 3 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:44,240 thank you for coming to my book reading. Sure, we may not be catching each other's 4 00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:49,040 glances as I look up from the page. We may not have the sound of a busy Davis kid in 5 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:57,840 the background, but to me, a little bit, it feels like I got to read my book directly 6 00:00:57,840 --> 00:01:05,280 to everyone that tunes into this, which I cannot tell you what a tremendously just wow 7 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:12,000 of a feeling that is. So if this episode sounds a little more directed at you in my tone than 8 00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:20,440 before, then you only have yourself to blame for making me feel like that. How dare you. 9 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:30,320 Please, please continue to dare. Thank you for that feeling. That, uh, that'll be fuel. 10 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:35,680 So quick recap. We know to empty our cups in order to receive what's actually being 11 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:40,360 said. We know that we're really clever when it comes to communicating and sharing ideas 12 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:46,800 and expressing ourselves. And we know our nonverbal communications or body face movements 13 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:52,200 and wordless sounds. They're the primary form of expression when it comes to emotions. And 14 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:59,000 we learned that every emotion has its own set of pretty easily recognizable nonverbals, 15 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:06,720 except for one emotion, which is easily argued to be the most important one, love. Now I'm, 16 00:02:06,720 --> 00:02:12,560 I'm sure some of you took guesses at it and it's difficult, isn't it? It's, it's like 17 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:22,020 there's this fog of confusing thoughts when you try to answer that one. So are you ready 18 00:02:22,020 --> 00:02:33,560 to learn the answer to the riddle of the missing sound? No. No, you're not. Not yet. Look, 19 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:38,960 I would love to tell you what the answer is right now. Just lay it out, but I need to 20 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:44,400 pour a bit more into your cup before I can give you that, or it will not land where I 21 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:51,200 need it to land. It just, it won't have anywhere near the same impact. It needs to get you 22 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:58,200 through the punch in the gut that is chapter eight. That chapter is a giant reveal and 23 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:03,080 the seconders will know what I'm talking about. And you're going to need a run up to get through 24 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:10,480 that one. Now the chapter we're about to read is, is a bit of a departure from the topic 25 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:17,300 that we closed the last chapter with. It may seem disjointed, but I promise you, I'm building 26 00:03:17,300 --> 00:03:23,880 the foundation of a structure that we can climb to the answer of the riddle and a whole 27 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:33,640 lot further. We're at the base of the pile. Let me show you the way up. Chapter two, 28 00:03:33,640 --> 00:03:41,000 Cacophony and the Granddaddy Fear. Okay, so first let's acknowledge a not so simple truth. 29 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:47,280 This is a truth that can be pretty scary if you're not ready to hear it. The world that 30 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:53,760 we live our entire lives in is a conglomeration of every single decision made by every single 31 00:03:53,760 --> 00:04:01,880 human being that ever lived. They slash we have shaped every aspect of tradition, society, 32 00:04:01,880 --> 00:04:08,960 entertainment and knowledge. Whether we want it to or not, every single decision and indecision, 33 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:16,400 because choosing not to choose is still a choice, has an impact. And we as incredibly gifted as we 34 00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:22,520 are as a species have nowhere near the site to understand the overall impact of any of those 35 00:04:22,520 --> 00:04:30,200 decisions. Regardless, you make decisions and you get to be a part of the shaping of that world for 36 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:39,080 billions of other people. You, you matter so much. You are a part of so many lives that you'll never 37 00:04:39,080 --> 00:04:48,720 even meet echoing out into the entire future of the human race. Now, we live in a very unique 38 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:55,360 position in dimensional space. We live fully in the first three dimensions of space being 39 00:04:55,360 --> 00:05:02,280 three dimensional creatures. But we also exist within the most infinitesimally thin slice of 40 00:05:02,280 --> 00:05:12,680 the fourth dimension, time. The word now describes a constantly moving position. Imagine all of time 41 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:20,000 at once like a giant sculpture and our position ever moving through it, marching forward and never 42 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:26,120 reversing its progress. If we lived as fully in the fourth dimension as we do in the first three, 43 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:30,880 we would see time all at once. We'd be able to move freely within it backwards, forwards, 44 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:37,840 fast or slow. But that's not the existence that was given to us. Either we're moving through it 45 00:05:37,840 --> 00:05:43,000 at a consistent rate over which we have no control, or it's moving through us and we still have no 46 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:52,200 control. Either way, everything behind us is still there, left behind as we're pulled along, 47 00:05:52,200 --> 00:06:00,360 but every bit is real as what is happening now. We call this position that we're stuck in the 48 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:07,360 present, the trail we leave behind, the past, and what has yet to be revealed from our position, 49 00:06:07,360 --> 00:06:14,040 the future. And what is so very fascinating about that particular position is that we find 50 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:21,280 ourselves staring basically into a void ahead of us. A clear-cut path behind us, but no way of 51 00:06:21,280 --> 00:06:28,160 seeing what the next moment holds for us and what decisions must be made. Is it danger? Is it good 52 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:34,440 fortune? And other people have free will as well, making decisions and who's to say they're not gonna 53 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:41,800 have their path come crashing into the routes you're taking, knocking you off balance. We are all 54 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:53,880 effectively blind pilots, but we are clever, and boy are we imaginative. We utilize our imaginations 55 00:06:53,880 --> 00:07:02,160 in these instances, and fear is something that we live our lives by. Fear is what sets up most of 56 00:07:02,160 --> 00:07:07,360 the guardrails that govern which paths we see as possible avenues that we can take in our day-to-day 57 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:15,040 life. As M. Night Shyamalan once stated, fear is an imaginary world that you build for yourself, 58 00:07:15,040 --> 00:07:23,560 and that you live by way of its rules. But all fears, no matter what flavor they come in, they 59 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:33,160 all originate from that one source fear, the grand daddy of all fears, the fear of the unknown. 60 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:41,600 Think about it. You've never been afraid of something that's already happened, only that 61 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:49,560 it'll A. happen again, or B. that as a by-product, something else undesired will occur as a result. 62 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:56,120 Once something you were afraid of has occurred, the very moment that becomes seen and known, 63 00:07:56,120 --> 00:08:03,280 we've ceased to fear it. In other words, say you live in a small village, and there's rumors of a 64 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:09,720 dragon in the area, and you're terrified that the dragon might discover your village, right? Well, 65 00:08:09,720 --> 00:08:15,680 one day the dragon lands and discovers your village. The moment that this is known to you, 66 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:25,680 are you still scared that the dragon will discover your village? No, that's already done now. So then 67 00:08:25,680 --> 00:08:32,600 your brain fills up quickly with the next offerings from our fear of the unknown. Will it eat us? Set 68 00:08:32,600 --> 00:08:38,960 fire to our thatched rooftops? Crush us underfoot? Recite Vogue on poetry? And it doesn't matter if 69 00:08:38,960 --> 00:08:45,080 the fear predicted the situation correctly last time, if it demands to be heard, it's gonna be 70 00:08:45,080 --> 00:08:51,840 heard and it's gonna be felt. So much so that those that have let fear firmly take the steering wheel 71 00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:58,160 in their life choices, they don't often feel as if they have a choice in the matter, and have a 72 00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:05,160 tendency to feel trapped in their options for choices. And many of us are taught to give that 73 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:10,680 choice over to fear. And we've seen a lot of education centered around making sure that we 74 00:09:10,680 --> 00:09:18,840 know that we cannot trust someone we haven't already vetted. It's a well established fact that human 75 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:25,800 beings have free will. And as a result, we're not going to always make the choice that's statistically 76 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:32,720 the most likely choice to be made. And to a mind that roots its actions in fear and probability of 77 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:43,080 outcome because it can't see past right this very second. This is a very, very real threat. Human 78 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:49,440 beings can't be predicted and how they may affect personally designed paths. Sure, we have rules and 79 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:54,680 consequences, laws and punishments to help increase the probability that people would hear to 80 00:09:54,680 --> 00:09:59,960 certain behaviors, therefore increasing our ability to make accurate predictions about what 81 00:09:59,960 --> 00:10:05,560 they're likely to do or not do. And we put up fences and door locks and security shutters to 82 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:13,040 make sure it stays that way. But we are a species that cannot thrive without one another. And so we 83 00:10:13,040 --> 00:10:20,520 find ourselves at constant odds. Add to that that most are moving in pursuit of my own path, and it 84 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:28,160 should be an absolute emotional disaster for each of them, which it both is and isn't. But we'll get 85 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:36,880 to that. So point being for the moment, we fix our eyes heavily on probability and predictive 86 00:10:36,880 --> 00:10:44,520 thinking as a way to see further than our position in time. But even the most astute of us can't 87 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:52,640 predict one 100 of the total impact one singular decision will have. We make educated guesses, but 88 00:10:52,640 --> 00:10:59,680 we're trapped in a very limiting viewpoint. You see, our brains are typically somewhat faulty, 89 00:10:59,680 --> 00:11:06,640 and accurately recording memories. And the future is an unknown, one on which we paint what we 90 00:11:06,640 --> 00:11:12,680 predict and hope for, and one on which we project our fears in order to plan for what may come and 91 00:11:12,680 --> 00:11:18,880 then start erecting our life's guide rails. And we soldier forth at a pace that we cannot choose, 92 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:25,960 completely blind to the paths and obstacles in those paths that are coming up. But humans adapt, 93 00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:34,320 we can't see the future. So we build a way of life based on predictability and protection. Door 94 00:11:34,320 --> 00:11:39,640 locks and work schedules, insurance and legal consequences. And one of the most necessary 95 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:48,200 components of this style of living is picking a path, choosing a path to call our own. In a system 96 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:53,880 of life that experiences time as we do, it's almost instinctual to design your plan and act 97 00:11:53,880 --> 00:11:59,920 according to it. To paraphrase Donald Miller in his book Blue Like Jazz, I never actually thought 98 00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:06,320 it and I never actually said it, but I damn sure acted as if I was the main character of this story. 99 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:13,280 Most of us move through this life believing ourselves to be the protagonist, and sometimes 100 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:18,760 treating the rest like the supporting cast. And of course you do. It's a story that you view in 101 00:12:18,760 --> 00:12:23,800 first person, and you get to decide what your character does. If literature hasn't done it 102 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:28,880 enough, film and video games certainly cemented the idea that the character that we see the world 103 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:34,680 through the eyes of is the main character. We often become very focused in these plans, 104 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:40,760 however big, standard or small they may be. So much so that I believe the bulk of most people's 105 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:47,600 planning is done automatically, without giving it much thought at all. But you'll have quite a lot 106 00:12:47,600 --> 00:12:54,440 of unpredictable obstacles in that path. I'll be referring to the plan that one plans for themselves 107 00:12:54,440 --> 00:13:02,960 as my own plan from here on. Just a heads up. Now as I've already mentioned, we interact with each 108 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:09,240 other on a constant basis, and very little of those interactions are predictable. And if what 109 00:13:09,240 --> 00:13:17,080 we choose to do, say or be affects someone else, it effectively alters their own personal experience, 110 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:22,240 their emotional state, or the paths that they now have available to them to choose from, which 111 00:13:22,240 --> 00:13:30,480 similarly affects those that they interact with from there on and on and on it goes. And every 112 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:37,840 change and decision that you helped affect bears your signature. You are partially responsible for 113 00:13:37,840 --> 00:13:44,040 all of them. Imagine one of those fireworks that fires the large bulb into the air that soon 114 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:50,320 explodes into several fist size burning balls. Now imagine each of those balls after a moment 115 00:13:50,320 --> 00:13:57,120 explodes into several more of the same size bulbs that in turn explode into several more bulbs. And 116 00:13:57,120 --> 00:14:06,720 imagine this continues forever. Each bulb is unique. Sometimes a bulb is a dud, and sometimes it 117 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:13,880 explodes into hundreds or thousands or even millions of bulbs. There is no way to predict 118 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:21,120 how each decision will explode or what harm or benefit it may bring. And with all this focus on 119 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:27,440 the paths we choose for ourselves, that kind of chaotic cacophony of cause and effect can be 120 00:14:27,440 --> 00:14:34,800 terrifying. I use cacophony because that fireworks visual is representing just one single action and 121 00:14:34,800 --> 00:14:43,760 decision from one person over 7.7 billion are adding to that fireworks show all the time. One 122 00:14:43,760 --> 00:14:52,680 that approximately 101 billion people have already been contributing to. Anyone can affect you 123 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:58,560 without deliberately meaning to eliminating paths that you would like to take or denying things that 124 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:06,920 you would like to have for yourself. So what do we do? Well, this dichotomy between human beings 125 00:15:06,920 --> 00:15:13,680 needing each other and the determination to minimize the world's random fireworks show effect 126 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:22,920 on our own chosen trajectory is dealt with by most people by reducing trust and by more broken 127 00:15:22,920 --> 00:15:30,800 empathy than we'd ever feel comfortable copying to. We choose who we let in and how many of the 128 00:15:30,800 --> 00:15:36,000 defenses we've erected both mentally and physically the chosen trusted people are allowed to pass 129 00:15:36,000 --> 00:15:42,400 through. This often comes from a place of getting to know someone well enough that you feel you can 130 00:15:42,400 --> 00:15:48,960 predict them enough to keep yourself out of harm's way. They show no patterns of them being 131 00:15:48,960 --> 00:15:55,520 distrust worthy or dangerous to your path and so they can stay. And the more love that one has for 132 00:15:55,520 --> 00:16:02,880 that person, the easier it is to trust them and vice versa. Even if we get hurt badly by a betrayal 133 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:09,720 of our trust, we are compelled to eventually get back out there and love and trust again. Why is 134 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:21,320 that? Well, put simply, we're compelled to love. It's one of, if not the, best feeling we are 135 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:41,040 capable of experiencing. The grandest and most motivating of motivations. And that's chapter three. 136 00:16:41,040 --> 00:16:46,080 You know, I wanted to start including something at the end of these that people could easily skip 137 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:51,320 past if they aren't interested in hearing anything other than the book being read, but you know, 138 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:57,120 something fun I could offer. And then immediately after I had that thought, I had this idea. I was 139 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:01,680 actually typing out some stuff I wanted to go over at the end and came across another one of 140 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:08,920 those words that just universally, every time I try it, every time it just looks wrong. The spelling 141 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:15,040 of it just always looks wrong to me. And I know that that's something I share with a lot of people. 142 00:17:15,040 --> 00:17:21,760 I know there's a lot of people out there that have that constantly plaguing their lives. Anyways, 143 00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:28,080 I thought that I would share a new one every end of podcast, just as a fun little thing. And I guess 144 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:33,480 it's somewhat related. It's writing related. Yeah, that's a stretch. I'll share one of those each 145 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:43,480 time. And I was thinking, I, well, I'm not thinking I created a subreddit called r slash always looks 146 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:51,240 wrong. Yeah, no spaces and drop the one that just plagues your life in there and let go of it. Let 147 00:17:51,240 --> 00:17:57,000 it let it go into the ether and let it be read over the airwaves. And I know, you know, the word 148 00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:01,920 I'm talking about, it's the one that you go to spell and you're just no matter how many times 149 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:08,360 you learn it, you write it out and it just, it looks wrong. And then you go, you finally, you 150 00:18:08,360 --> 00:18:13,320 tried a couple of ways and then you look it up and you're looking at the word and you're just like, 151 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:20,920 that can't be how they spell that. That doesn't look right. That's the kind of word I want from 152 00:18:20,920 --> 00:18:26,440 you guys. And for today, I'm going to give you the one that has plagued me my entire life because I 153 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:35,360 swear, I want to swear so bad that I saw it at one point that I learned the spelling of it as L I S C 154 00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:43,600 at some point, but the word is license and I don't know why, but it will always look wrong to me. I 155 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:50,640 gotta tell you, I am dying to hear which ones you guys have. Okay guys, so if you get a chance, 156 00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:57,560 jump on our slash always looks wrong. Find out how many of us share your burden. And that's, 157 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:02,440 that's pretty much it for me. Thanks for coming to my reading. You can check out the YouTube 158 00:19:02,440 --> 00:19:08,360 channel at youtube.com slash could help. You can contact the podcast that will help mail at gmail.com 159 00:19:08,360 --> 00:19:16,040 I come talk about this stuff, ask questions, hear what others think at our slash the laughing matters 160 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:22,600 on Reddit. And you can stay up to date with the show's Facebook page of facebook.com slash I could 161 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:32,920 help. So go get out there and send out some fireworks that just keep bursting. Be sweet. Bye everybody.