1
00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:24,040
Welcome back, you wonderful people who matter so very very much.

2
00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:25,800
Hi, how are you?

3
00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:26,800
Wonderful to see you.

4
00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:28,560
Are you ready?

5
00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:30,880
It is finally time.

6
00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:36,340
Time for me to put together all of those pieces, to assemble the concept out of all the concepts

7
00:00:36,340 --> 00:00:41,800
I have laid out for you, and to bring this very big part of the last ten years of my

8
00:00:41,800 --> 00:00:43,480
life to its fruition.

9
00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:50,080
In fact, at the time that this sentence was written, it is nine days until the ten year

10
00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:56,440
anniversary of the day that God asked me to take my journey, and the huge leap of faith

11
00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:58,320
that I made.

12
00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:04,640
I am so glad that we're here, and I'm sorry that it took me this long to figure out what

13
00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:08,120
I've figured out and to lead you to what I was led to.

14
00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:10,680
But we're here.

15
00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:16,600
As great as that is, we're pretty much at the end of the book now, and I want to start

16
00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:23,080
fixing our eyes outward from where we are right now, to where we go from here, because

17
00:01:23,080 --> 00:01:26,360
that's the one that's going to matter the most.

18
00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:31,240
We've been through a lot during this book, you and I, and it's going to be time soon

19
00:01:31,240 --> 00:01:36,720
to go out into the world with what you know and make some difficult choices.

20
00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:41,040
It's what you do with this information that holds the greatest weight.

21
00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:43,840
This is a lot like when mistakes are made.

22
00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:48,000
There's nothing we can do to stop the ones that were made, they're gone and over with,

23
00:01:48,000 --> 00:01:51,840
but what you do from there is always a choice.

24
00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:57,680
And I'd like for you to consider the following as one among the great many questions that

25
00:01:57,680 --> 00:02:00,680
I hope you have going forward.

26
00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:06,360
What part of you is it that you want to motivate you?

27
00:02:06,360 --> 00:02:11,440
I'll tell you, you're going to get a very telling answer by way of how you reach that

28
00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,200
answer internally.

29
00:02:14,200 --> 00:02:23,000
I hope you choose to carry this book's information with you, to carry it on to others.

30
00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:24,840
Chapter 10.

31
00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:29,520
Strings and Keys

32
00:02:29,520 --> 00:02:35,200
There was a study done in the 1960s in which they had IV drips attached to the jugulars

33
00:02:35,200 --> 00:02:42,600
of rats that, when the rat would press down on a lever, would inject a drug into the animal.

34
00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:47,160
They performed multiple studies with multiple drugs like heroin, morphine, cocaine, and

35
00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:48,160
amphetamine.

36
00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:53,520
In each of these studies, the rats would hit the lever with increasing frequency, constantly

37
00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:58,120
abusing it, sometimes administering lethally high doses to themselves.

38
00:02:58,120 --> 00:03:01,280
Well, the media had a field day with the results.

39
00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:05,360
Here was scientific proof that these drugs were addicted.

40
00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:10,400
Well approximately 40 years later, a group of scientists decided that that data might

41
00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:16,760
show something a bit different than what we pulled from it initially.

42
00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:23,640
You see, people are normally not kept in featureless metal cages in isolation from others.

43
00:03:23,640 --> 00:03:28,760
The only times that the rats had contact with anyone, rat or man, was when the handlers

44
00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:33,920
would clean the cages every few days, including the sheet metal walls that kept them from

45
00:03:33,920 --> 00:03:38,400
being able to socialize with the rats stacked on every side of their cage.

46
00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:40,660
The rats had nothing to do with their time.

47
00:03:40,660 --> 00:03:46,240
They had no purpose, no one to be with, had a needle sticking in their jugular, and a

48
00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:47,240
happy lever.

49
00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:51,320
They didn't get any exercise or sunlight.

50
00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:57,440
Their lives were devoid of options for happiness.

51
00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:02,080
Canadian psychologist Bruce K. Alexander did a different variant of the study.

52
00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:08,360
He and his team built the rats a large wooden enclosure that was 200 times the size of the

53
00:04:08,360 --> 00:04:12,600
cages used in the original experiments.

54
00:04:12,600 --> 00:04:19,120
Gone were the barren sheet metal floors and walls, replaced by a wooden perimeter and

55
00:04:19,120 --> 00:04:20,880
wood chips.

56
00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:25,760
They did away with the needles too, favoring the two-water bottle system, one laced with

57
00:04:25,760 --> 00:04:28,960
morphine, one not.

58
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:33,040
For the laced bottle, they would frequently sweeten the morphine water to negate any of

59
00:04:33,040 --> 00:04:36,440
the unsavory taste to the drug water.

60
00:04:36,440 --> 00:04:44,000
The enclosure had ladders, tubes, platforms, as well as bedding, but most importantly,

61
00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:47,160
the rats had each other.

62
00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:55,340
Each study group was 16 to 24 rats that had plenty of room to play, socialize, and mate.

63
00:04:55,340 --> 00:05:00,160
They quickly discovered that the rats who had only lived in Rat Park preferred the regular

64
00:05:00,160 --> 00:05:03,320
water significantly more than the morphine water.

65
00:05:03,320 --> 00:05:07,560
They would go for the occasional nip, but that was it.

66
00:05:07,560 --> 00:05:12,520
And the scientists also recreated the conditions of the first experiment, and housed two groups

67
00:05:12,520 --> 00:05:17,920
in the isolation cages, but with water bottles and no IV drips.

68
00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,800
In one group, the rats lived for the first portion of their time in the cramped metal

69
00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:28,400
cages with access to both bottles, and heavily abused the laced water, and then were moved

70
00:05:28,400 --> 00:05:31,320
to Rat Park for the second portion.

71
00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,600
These rats immediately began to show a strong preference towards the regular water once

72
00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:37,960
they were moved.

73
00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,540
The other group that lived in the metal cages for the first half of the experiment only

74
00:05:42,540 --> 00:05:47,200
had the morphine water bottle during their time there.

75
00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:52,220
Once the second part of that study began, and they were introduced to Rat Park, they

76
00:05:52,220 --> 00:05:58,240
immediately avoided the morphine bottle, sweet or unsweet, altogether.

77
00:05:58,240 --> 00:06:03,600
And they would occasionally show minor signs of withdrawal, slight twitching, but by and

78
00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:10,520
large, none of the dramatic withdrawal seizures or symptoms that accompany morphine addiction.

79
00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:16,160
They were rats that suddenly had a community, something to do, and other rats to be with.

80
00:06:16,160 --> 00:06:19,040
They no longer hated their lives.

81
00:06:19,040 --> 00:06:24,040
They actually avoided the drug that was the one source of dopamine release in their brains

82
00:06:24,040 --> 00:06:27,160
while they were in those cramped cages.

83
00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,120
And people can be much of the same.

84
00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:35,360
When we're unhappy with our lives, a lot of us turn to escapism in the form of video

85
00:06:35,360 --> 00:06:41,440
games, obsessive eating, drugs, alcohol, which technically is a drug, but television, random

86
00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:43,080
hookups, etc.

87
00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:49,560
But once our lives are full of love, trust, joy, and happiness, we only occasionally go

88
00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:52,240
nip at the bottle.

89
00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:57,800
When we're living the way we're designed to, we see a pretty drastic reduction of the

90
00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:00,240
use of the breaking laugh.

91
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:01,660
Why?

92
00:07:01,660 --> 00:07:07,360
Because we have the genuine laugh in our lives, and nothing quite substitutes for that.

93
00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:12,460
Sure, we may go back for the occasional nip, but we just don't need the escapism behaviors

94
00:07:12,460 --> 00:07:19,600
to ease the pain as much because we're just not in as much pain.

95
00:07:19,600 --> 00:07:26,720
And when you don't need the breaking laugh, you tend to lose your taste for it.

96
00:07:26,720 --> 00:07:33,120
When one undertakes the task of loving all, if they already have a belief in a God, they

97
00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:40,000
find it much easier to talk to him and can hear him quite a bit more loudly and clearly.

98
00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:47,000
But the thing that becomes easiest is loving God.

99
00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:54,240
Finally, it becomes effortless, like falling.

100
00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:58,280
I believe this is because you're loving him here through other people and as mentioned

101
00:07:58,280 --> 00:08:05,600
before, between the two greatest commandments, it's the same thing as loving him there.

102
00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:11,160
And when you find yourself loving God this way, it becomes so much easier to trust him,

103
00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:15,200
to put your faith in him leading you to the paths that'll bring happiness and out of

104
00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,880
danger for you and others.

105
00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:20,400
So why don't we do this?

106
00:08:20,400 --> 00:08:24,120
Well, we're afraid of where that'll land us.

107
00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:29,520
You are essentially doing away with the predictive guidelines that have been cultivated by yourself

108
00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:38,260
and everyone else and you are staring directly into the void that is what lies directly ahead.

109
00:08:38,260 --> 00:08:43,960
You are acknowledging that anything could happen at any moment.

110
00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:48,440
Of course, one minute from now, your instincts to predict the likelihood of what will be

111
00:08:48,440 --> 00:08:54,520
waiting up ahead are going to pester you and attempt to take over and I can't offer you

112
00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,920
any way that I know of to stop them.

113
00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:05,160
But I can tell you how I stopped hearing them, how their voices became less important and

114
00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:12,360
imposing, how I reduced their clamor to a soft din.

115
00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:17,640
I was always too busy marveling at the clever ways that God had navigated me thus far, or

116
00:09:17,640 --> 00:09:22,000
simply stop those voices from trying by saying, yeah I know, right?

117
00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:24,200
You would think that that would happen.

118
00:09:24,200 --> 00:09:30,720
Luckily, God's got quite a bit more authority than my prediction, so...

119
00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:35,400
So far in the book, I've been stringing a concept to a previously explained concept

120
00:09:35,400 --> 00:09:36,980
occasionally.

121
00:09:36,980 --> 00:09:40,360
But I think we've reached the point where we need to go ahead and put the rest of the

122
00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:41,660
strings up.

123
00:09:41,660 --> 00:09:45,060
Now that all the main concepts are on the table.

124
00:09:45,060 --> 00:09:48,760
So here we go.

125
00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:57,080
What is one of the biggest things that women cite as what they're looking for in a relationship?

126
00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:00,440
They want someone who can make them laugh.

127
00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:04,400
And now you have a much better idea of why that is.

128
00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:09,640
Laughter is the sound of love un-aimed, but it can also be misappropriated in order to

129
00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:14,040
avoid feeling bad about not caring as much about your fellow man as it seems we were

130
00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:17,480
probably designed to do.

131
00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:23,220
The thing that typically gets in the way of that caring is our desire for my own path

132
00:10:23,220 --> 00:10:28,600
and the unpredictability of our fellow man, which leads to distrust.

133
00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:33,400
We can't see the future, so the fear of the unknown becomes a governing force in our lives,

134
00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:36,700
and we try to make our lives predictable.

135
00:10:36,700 --> 00:10:39,000
And we don't just try to predict it either.

136
00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:43,040
We attempt to carve our path towards that which we choose for ourselves, and the less

137
00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:50,640
we care about others, the more straight, probable, and predictable you can make that path.

138
00:10:50,640 --> 00:10:58,480
That way of living requires that we sacrifice the three main keys to real substantial happiness.

139
00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:03,840
Universal love, trust-slash-faith, and generosity.

140
00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:08,160
The breaking laugh can be used as a salve while we do this.

141
00:11:08,160 --> 00:11:14,600
We are continuing down a gradually declining path in our humor towards violation, and it's

142
00:11:14,600 --> 00:11:21,800
leading us further and further from compassion and trust for those we haven't yet bedded.

143
00:11:21,800 --> 00:11:26,840
And those people count, every single one of them is just as important and real as you

144
00:11:26,840 --> 00:11:27,840
are.

145
00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:30,560
And of course they're as important as we are.

146
00:11:30,560 --> 00:11:37,640
We're all made of the same stuff, and that stuff is probably God, and we all have something

147
00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:42,600
within us that is unlike anything else and something that resembles God more than it

148
00:11:42,600 --> 00:11:48,400
resembles the physical world.

149
00:11:48,400 --> 00:11:53,520
God has very clearly stated across the board that we're to care about each other, to love

150
00:11:53,520 --> 00:11:58,600
each other, and to love God, and that these two ideas are the same.

151
00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:05,220
That which you have done to the least of you, you have done unto me.

152
00:12:05,220 --> 00:12:11,160
The only way to do what's been asked of us is to open ourselves to everyone else, to

153
00:12:11,160 --> 00:12:15,000
trust and to love.

154
00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:20,360
But the biggest obstacle is the fear of the unknown.

155
00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:25,640
So big and governing is that fear in most people's lives that even though I've walked

156
00:12:25,640 --> 00:12:31,560
you through a very logical argument on why it's easily the best way to live when you

157
00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:36,680
trust God to drop your defenses with others to love and increase love and happiness in

158
00:12:36,680 --> 00:12:39,060
others.

159
00:12:39,060 --> 00:12:45,440
Even then, that imaginary world of prediction still rears its head and asks you, you aren't

160
00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:48,440
seriously considering doing this, are you?

161
00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:56,060
Hey, hey, hey, let's see, I need you to say no right now or I will start screaming.

162
00:12:56,060 --> 00:13:04,040
The core of real solid, high quality, true sustenance caliber happiness is reached by

163
00:13:04,040 --> 00:13:10,280
giving of yourself to others and loving others and yet that fear demands that we don't do

164
00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:13,160
it openly.

165
00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:19,840
But the people that take the leap clear over fear's head and into faith, they find that

166
00:13:19,840 --> 00:13:23,760
love and they find that happiness.

167
00:13:23,760 --> 00:13:29,160
It's like that split second when you're climbing stairs in the dark and your foot passes through

168
00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:32,160
a step that you thought was there.

169
00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:38,680
That next step will be there, just probably not where you expected.

170
00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:43,320
And once you start, it's such a simple thing living without fear.

171
00:13:43,320 --> 00:13:49,200
Just be kind and love them and help where you can.

172
00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:56,120
Don't fear the consequences of your vulnerabilities when you help, just hope.

173
00:13:56,120 --> 00:14:05,040
And if you still feel that fear, it's okay, but don't let it stop you anymore.

174
00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:10,260
For those of you who are still waiting for proof to make the leap, the proof you need

175
00:14:10,260 --> 00:14:14,160
appears to be on the other side of the leap, I'm sorry.

176
00:14:14,160 --> 00:14:18,240
It's somewhat similar to courage in that it doesn't appear in earnest at the start

177
00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:23,840
of when you needed it, but rather once you've pulled yourself up and headed into whatever

178
00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:29,860
you needed it for in the first place.

179
00:14:29,860 --> 00:14:36,960
The morning I set off on my journey, January 21, 2011, I stopped at the door of my dorm

180
00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:38,840
room.

181
00:14:38,840 --> 00:14:44,240
I had everything I was taking in a small stachel and I had left my wallet on the bed.

182
00:14:44,240 --> 00:14:50,400
I had paused at the door, teetering at the edge of the scariest tipping point I had ever

183
00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:52,560
stood upon.

184
00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:57,320
By far the biggest cause of my pause was that the only other explanation for everything

185
00:14:57,320 --> 00:15:02,840
that had happened was that I had gone insane with delusions of self-importance, and my

186
00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:08,680
fear pushed all of its chips into the center of the poker table on that one.

187
00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:15,920
So I asked, God, I just need some help knowing that this isn't all in my head.

188
00:15:15,920 --> 00:15:20,360
Please, anything.

189
00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:24,560
I had no idea what I was standing there in wait of.

190
00:15:24,560 --> 00:15:30,080
I finally nodded, gripped the door knob and smiled to myself.

191
00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:32,280
So it's to be faith then.

192
00:15:32,280 --> 00:15:37,440
I said trying to keep the choke out of my voice as I made my final decision and took

193
00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:41,680
my first step into the true unknown.

194
00:15:41,680 --> 00:15:49,760
I stepped out to a bright world blanketed in snow, reflecting light everywhere, and

195
00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:57,360
as I turned to pull the door shut behind me, a bright color stood out above all the white.

196
00:15:57,360 --> 00:16:04,400
A neon green post-it note then slapped my dorm room door and written on it in ecstatic

197
00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:11,400
handwriting was, Smile, Life is Wonderful.

198
00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:15,880
I suppose I'd do well to mention that no one had ever left a note on my dorm room door

199
00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:21,440
save for the RAs leaving event announcements in the two and a half years I lived on campus.

200
00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:25,120
We had cell phones, you send a text.

201
00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:30,480
As I stepped away from the door, I saw that every single door on my floor had a note,

202
00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:34,840
brightly colored and brandishing messages of hope.

203
00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:40,120
I read them as I walked down the hallway and I still remember the first three.

204
00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:41,120
Great job!

205
00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:43,760
I'm proud of you!

206
00:16:43,760 --> 00:16:47,600
And I believe in you.

207
00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:54,640
So far as I understand, this was not an organized event by the RAs, but simply a single student

208
00:16:54,640 --> 00:16:59,880
that felt compelled to share some statements of positivity for no other reason than among

209
00:16:59,880 --> 00:17:05,680
those notes that were put out on the doors, a few of those doors probably had tenets that

210
00:17:05,680 --> 00:17:09,480
needed to hear what was on the note.

211
00:17:09,480 --> 00:17:15,780
I'd also like to add here that very shortly after, any suspicions of all these concepts

212
00:17:15,780 --> 00:17:21,520
being the result of my having gone off the farm mentally were officially disproved, for

213
00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:24,840
me, I mean, and laid to rest.

214
00:17:24,840 --> 00:17:29,820
And all it took was talking to the people I met on my journey about the concepts.

215
00:17:29,820 --> 00:17:36,800
To watch them realize the same things that I had wiped that fear out quick.

216
00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:41,960
Truth resonates and people's reaction to hearing a truth that they weren't prepared for is

217
00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,680
pretty easy to spot.

218
00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,920
It's also a great catalyst for loving them.

219
00:17:47,920 --> 00:17:51,840
Gives you a peek behind the curtain as their defenses slip a bit.

220
00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:56,620
We are all connected on levels that we have no way of detecting other than to spot the

221
00:17:56,620 --> 00:18:01,920
patterns that emerge by way of those connections' existences.

222
00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:06,640
Everything points to us being good to each other, helping each other, and that it is

223
00:18:06,640 --> 00:18:12,320
that behavior that God enjoys most and has been very clear that we are to do.

224
00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:19,480
As Maya Angelou said, if you find it within your heart to care for someone else, you will

225
00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:22,000
have succeeded.

226
00:18:22,000 --> 00:18:28,280
So do for them without fear of reprisal, be kind, act from love.

227
00:18:28,280 --> 00:18:34,120
I have never hurt God so clearly or felt him as close to me as I did when I opened up my

228
00:18:34,120 --> 00:18:37,960
heart to my fellow man.

229
00:18:37,960 --> 00:18:44,340
Love without aim, and let that smile boil over into a laugh.

230
00:18:44,340 --> 00:18:49,360
Loving God becomes a lot less like swimming upstream like this and a lot more effortless

231
00:18:49,360 --> 00:18:51,760
like falling.

232
00:18:51,760 --> 00:18:56,480
Loving others is the only way to truly feel complete.

233
00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:00,160
Loving them here is in a very real sense loving them there.

234
00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:04,920
And besides, God knows what paths lead where, and the paths where your defenses are down

235
00:19:04,920 --> 00:19:09,000
have special attention paid to them to make sure you have what you need and that there

236
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:12,000
is always ground beneath your feet.

237
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:16,080
And I believe that this was designed that way for the same reason that we are not allowed

238
00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:21,440
to know with scientific clarity if there is a God or an afterlife.

239
00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:29,080
Because love and faith, these are the two things that are the point of this life.

240
00:19:29,080 --> 00:19:33,160
And it's not really faith if you have absolute proof.

241
00:19:33,160 --> 00:19:37,000
And so God's hands are hidden throughout these paths, pushing and nudging through the

242
00:19:37,000 --> 00:19:42,800
skin of our world and leaving just enough evidence to sustain those that have already

243
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,440
made the choice to believe.

244
00:19:45,440 --> 00:19:51,640
They can be argued as coincidence, but have faith that if you try to do the right thing

245
00:19:51,640 --> 00:19:57,760
by way of others and treat them as if they were just as important to you, then you have

246
00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:02,440
to know that those hands will protect you and they'll help you along towards real,

247
00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:05,600
substantial happiness.

248
00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:10,480
After all, happiness is only real when shared.

249
00:20:10,480 --> 00:20:15,560
Nobody gets to happiness alone.

250
00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:20,640
There's a few more things about laughter that I thought I'd wait until now to share with

251
00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:21,640
you.

252
00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:26,920
A cultural anthropologist, the study of human behavior over the course of man's history

253
00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:31,880
believed that laughter was the very first form of social-vocal communication that we

254
00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:34,680
developed with each other.

255
00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:39,280
These scientists believed that it was primarily used to communicate that everything was okay

256
00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:47,440
after a tense or scary encounter, or to convey that they could be trusted.

257
00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:53,320
It was a sound that was used to bring people closer.

258
00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:57,760
The breaking laugh doesn't have to be used to lessen our compassion.

259
00:20:57,760 --> 00:21:02,720
We also try to use it for good and to display our compassion.

260
00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:07,680
When a friend is down, sometimes a cleverly worded joke at the expense of the teller or

261
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:12,640
the friend of whatever their misfortune was is all the excuse they need to laugh and for

262
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,440
the laughter to help make the hurting stop.

263
00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:19,440
And human beings are good that way.

264
00:21:19,440 --> 00:21:26,240
No matter how much our empathy gets shoved aside, our compassion still makes us want

265
00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,880
the hurting to stop for the ones we love.

266
00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:33,800
And there's a lot of them out there that are hurting.

267
00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:40,760
Your love and your trust can go a much longer way to helping the injured than you could

268
00:21:40,760 --> 00:21:48,640
ever predict.

269
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,800
And that's almost it for me.

270
00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:52,200
Thank you for coming to the reading.

271
00:21:52,200 --> 00:21:57,680
Now at some point you may have stopped and said, hey, he said that this was the big wrap-up

272
00:21:57,680 --> 00:22:02,720
episode, but he also said that the book's got 11 chapters.

273
00:22:02,720 --> 00:22:06,880
Okay, well, Chapter 11.

274
00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:07,880
Final Words

275
00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:13,280
Now, take these concepts and plug them in.

276
00:22:13,280 --> 00:22:18,240
Tent the glass that you see the world through with what I've shared on these pages.

277
00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:20,920
See what sticks for yourself.

278
00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:25,960
Ask questions to yourself about moments in your past where you've seen some of this stuff.

279
00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:31,080
And see if you don't already have the answers just waiting there for you to ask.

280
00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,880
This book is a tool to start the conversation.

281
00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:39,160
A conversation that I hope you continue to have with yourself and others for the rest

282
00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:40,480
of your life.

283
00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:45,320
Much like the Bible is a tool to start people with a relationship with God, it isn't the

284
00:22:45,320 --> 00:22:49,400
beginning, middle, and end of God.

285
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:55,040
This book isn't nearly all that there is to these concepts.

286
00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:57,640
It's just one facet.

287
00:22:57,640 --> 00:23:00,800
Just an introduction to them.

288
00:23:00,800 --> 00:23:07,800
Look at the threads from your own unique standpoint, like I did, and after you make the leap, the

289
00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:12,040
answers you actually need will be there to welcome you.

290
00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:17,260
And on the note of the Bible, I want you to know that I don't hate religions.

291
00:23:17,260 --> 00:23:21,960
You wonderful, wonderful person who read this book and made it this far.

292
00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:27,440
I know that some of these concepts were very hard to hear, and I truly am just so proud

293
00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:29,820
of you.

294
00:23:29,820 --> 00:23:35,200
Religions introduced me to God, that gave me a name to call God, and some insight into

295
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:40,960
some of how God has interacted with mankind in the past, and showed me some of the beauty

296
00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,420
and community.

297
00:23:43,420 --> 00:23:48,960
But the long-standing histories of mankind's time with these religions has left a certain

298
00:23:48,960 --> 00:23:55,400
rigid feel towards God, particularly to the public perception held by those that are not

299
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,660
part of a religion or are non-practicing.

300
00:23:58,660 --> 00:24:05,680
But it is either this or its wrong rigidity and competition that doesn't give an active

301
00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:10,680
mind much of a choice to believe in any of the gods.

302
00:24:10,680 --> 00:24:17,960
So deeply have these perceptions of God been locked into place, that a fair shake of people

303
00:24:17,960 --> 00:24:25,480
out there that believe that there is something label themselves as atheists, subconsciously

304
00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:30,840
just trying to distance themselves from well-known versions that they don't necessarily believe

305
00:24:30,840 --> 00:24:33,840
in, not totally.

306
00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:38,600
Most of the atheists that I've spoken with or befriended believe that there is something,

307
00:24:38,600 --> 00:24:44,040
or at very least believe that it's possible, if not probable.

308
00:24:44,040 --> 00:24:50,120
There seems to be this almost subconscious message that hangs right under these religions

309
00:24:50,120 --> 00:24:54,960
that states it's all of this, or you don't believe.

310
00:24:54,960 --> 00:25:00,480
Contrary to apparently very popular belief, you are allowed to believe only some of it,

311
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:03,840
and gather wisdom from any of it.

312
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:09,360
You are allowed to find God out in the world, in the math of the universe, in the eyes of

313
00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:15,600
anyone you love, in the genuine laugh, or any feeling that you are capable of feeling.

314
00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:21,880
Find Him wherever you find Him, but find Him.

315
00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:27,320
If you are looking, He will be there when the time is right, because not every time

316
00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,920
is right this moment.

317
00:25:29,920 --> 00:25:37,080
The Gospel of Thomas quotes Jesus as saying, cleave the wood, I am there.

318
00:25:37,080 --> 00:25:41,600
Lift the stone, and thou shalt find me there.

319
00:25:41,600 --> 00:25:49,880
Yes, learning backwards about what God was like in the past is good, but living and learning

320
00:25:49,880 --> 00:25:54,120
forward about God is best.

321
00:25:54,120 --> 00:25:59,200
To quote Donald Miller from Blue Light Jazz, believing in God is as much like falling in

322
00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:03,220
love as it is making a decision.

323
00:26:03,220 --> 00:26:08,480
Love is both something that happens to you, and something you decide on.

324
00:26:08,480 --> 00:26:16,200
I believe you have a decision out of you that I didn't warn was coming up.

325
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:18,680
How will you treat them?

326
00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:20,920
How will you treat them?

327
00:26:20,920 --> 00:26:26,120
Can you live in a path that you were designed for?

328
00:26:26,120 --> 00:26:35,000
Which in essence boils down to, do you actually believe?

329
00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:39,920
Now that you have all the pieces, and know how most of them fit together, I recommend

330
00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:41,760
reading the book again.

331
00:26:41,760 --> 00:26:45,040
I'm told that it's much better the second time.

332
00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:49,920
And for seconders, which is what I call people making their way through the second time,

333
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:56,640
I've left little notes in there that you may have noticed the first time through.

334
00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:03,680
You'll see each concept slot nicely into place in a large intertwining series, and then go

335
00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:06,720
talk about these things to people.

336
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:08,960
The book is here as a tool.

337
00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:15,840
When I finished writing it, I found that I had become one more rung on the ladder.

338
00:27:15,840 --> 00:27:26,440
So get a hold of it, and create the next rung.

339
00:27:26,440 --> 00:27:27,440
About the Author

340
00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:28,440
W.S.

341
00:27:28,440 --> 00:27:33,280
Walker was raised in Nashville, Tennessee, and was generally considered to be, quote,

342
00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:39,040
a bit weird, but a nice enough fellow, end quote.

343
00:27:39,040 --> 00:27:42,480
I truly thank you for giving my words a chance.

344
00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:45,800
They are my words, but these are not my concepts.

345
00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:50,120
Much like an explorer shouldn't be credited with how beautiful a portion of land or sea

346
00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:56,160
is, but only that they were the ones that came across it, these are not my concepts.

347
00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:01,040
I merely found them, and I know that you, the reader, will find them as well if you

348
00:28:01,040 --> 00:28:06,360
but look where I am pointing.

349
00:28:06,360 --> 00:28:08,840
And that's the book.

350
00:28:08,840 --> 00:28:10,880
Choose to believe.

351
00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,160
Choose to be good to them.

352
00:28:14,160 --> 00:28:15,160
To be good for them.

353
00:28:15,160 --> 00:28:18,160
And you're gonna be great.

354
00:28:18,160 --> 00:28:20,160
Be sweet.

355
00:28:20,160 --> 00:28:25,160
Bye everybody.

356
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:28,680
And you can check out the YouTube channel at youtube.com slash could help.

357
00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:32,400
You can contact the podcast at will help mail at gmail.com.

358
00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:34,080
Come by and talk about this stuff.

359
00:28:34,080 --> 00:28:39,320
Ask questions or hear what others think at r slash the laughing matters on Reddit.

360
00:28:39,320 --> 00:28:43,280
And you can stay up to date with the show's Facebook page at Facebook.com slash I could

361
00:28:43,280 --> 00:28:44,280
help.

362
00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:48,560
And of course, the laughing matters.com.

363
00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:52,800
This is not the end, by the way, the show will keep going.

364
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:57,880
There's plenty more for me to tell you guys about that I found and plenty more that I

365
00:28:57,880 --> 00:28:58,880
have to teach.

366
00:28:58,880 --> 00:29:00,880
So please keep coming back.

367
00:29:00,880 --> 00:29:03,120
It's actually going to be a lot looser from here.

368
00:29:03,120 --> 00:29:06,280
It's going to be more entertaining, hopefully.

369
00:29:06,280 --> 00:29:09,080
And I think we're going to have some fun.

370
00:29:09,080 --> 00:29:10,840
I believe in you.

371
00:29:10,840 --> 00:29:17,880
When it comes to this stuff, I believe that you have it in you to process this.

372
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:28,600
Be strong and be good.

373
00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:35,160
They were rats that suddenly had a community, something to do and other rats to do it with.

374
00:29:35,160 --> 00:29:36,160
That's bad.

375
00:29:36,160 --> 00:29:58,800
I'm going to change that up.

376
00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:12,240
değer and travel.