WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.020 Okay, so let's let's untack this today. I want 00:00:03.020 --> 00:00:06.200 you to imagine a song. Just any song. Not just 00:00:06.200 --> 00:00:08.900 any song. I want you to imagine a piece of music 00:00:08.900 --> 00:00:14.400 that is ostensibly about a baby sleeping in a 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:16.760 manger. Right, the classic setup. Exactly, the 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:18.339 classic Christmas setup. You know, you've got 00:00:18.339 --> 00:00:20.719 the straw, the donkey, the silent night whole 00:00:20.719 --> 00:00:24.100 vibe. Sure. But the music itself sounds like 00:00:24.100 --> 00:00:28.160 a coronation march for a king entering a throne 00:00:28.160 --> 00:00:30.800 room to claim an empire. It's a jarring contrast. 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:32.759 It really is. And at the same time, the lyrics 00:00:32.759 --> 00:00:36.759 aren't your standard sleep -in -heavenly -peace 00:00:36.759 --> 00:00:39.320 kind of thing. Far from it. They are this mind 00:00:39.320 --> 00:00:43.250 -bending series of logical impossibilities. Philosophical 00:00:43.250 --> 00:00:45.270 paradoxes that would honestly make a quantum 00:00:45.270 --> 00:00:48.189 physicist's head spin. It is a fascinating trusted 00:00:48.189 --> 00:00:50.270 position, isn't it? You expect a lullaby and 00:00:50.270 --> 00:00:52.630 you get a revolution instead. Yes, a revolution. 00:00:52.909 --> 00:00:54.990 And here is where it gets really, really interesting 00:00:54.990 --> 00:00:56.850 for this deep dive. Right, because the context 00:00:56.850 --> 00:00:59.909 always shifts. Exactly. This song, which starts 00:00:59.909 --> 00:01:03.149 as a theological puzzle in the late 1700s, ends 00:01:03.149 --> 00:01:05.549 up becoming a national anthem. For a country 00:01:05.549 --> 00:01:08.450 that technically didn't exist at the time. Right. 00:01:08.670 --> 00:01:11.230 And then it becomes a song of resistance in World 00:01:11.230 --> 00:01:15.310 War II concentration camps. And wait for it. 00:01:15.390 --> 00:01:17.790 Go ahead. It becomes the theme music for a major 00:01:17.790 --> 00:01:20.569 civilization in a global strategy video game 00:01:20.569 --> 00:01:23.349 played by millions of teenagers today. That is 00:01:23.349 --> 00:01:25.269 quite the trajectory. I mean, from the quill 00:01:25.269 --> 00:01:28.310 pen to the pixel, it really speaks to the durability 00:01:28.310 --> 00:01:31.489 of the work. Doesn't it? So the song we are diving 00:01:31.489 --> 00:01:35.209 into today is titled Bog Skorodzy. Which is Polish. 00:01:35.420 --> 00:01:38.379 Yes, and in English that translates to God is 00:01:38.379 --> 00:01:42.299 Born. A very direct title. Very. Now if you are 00:01:42.299 --> 00:01:44.500 just scanning a Spotify playlist or looking at 00:01:44.500 --> 00:01:47.379 a hymnal index, that title sounds like your standard 00:01:47.379 --> 00:01:49.260 one -of -the -mill Christmas carol. You might 00:01:49.260 --> 00:01:51.840 expect something soft. Right, something gentle, 00:01:52.200 --> 00:01:54.819 maybe a flute in the background, a very peaceful 00:01:54.819 --> 00:01:57.640 acoustic guitar. But if you assumed that you 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:00.159 would be missing the sheer weight of this piece. 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:02.629 Because it's not just a carol. No, this isn't 00:02:02.629 --> 00:02:05.310 just a carol at all. In Poland, this is widely 00:02:05.310 --> 00:02:07.349 considered the national Christmas hymn. Which 00:02:07.349 --> 00:02:11.330 is a huge title. It occupies a space that is 00:02:11.330 --> 00:02:15.560 almost unique in global culture. It completely 00:02:15.560 --> 00:02:18.620 bridges the gap between religious devotion and 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:21.620 a fierce, almost desperate national identity. 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:23.819 And we aren't just saying that for effect here. 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:26.240 Because the poet, Jean Lachot, actually went 00:02:26.240 --> 00:02:29.080 on record considering it a national anthem for 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:31.300 a time. He did. He thought it represented the 00:02:31.300 --> 00:02:33.900 soul of the people better than the actual political 00:02:33.900 --> 00:02:36.740 anthems of the era. Which is wild for a song 00:02:36.740 --> 00:02:39.039 about the nativity. Exactly. Lachot saw something 00:02:39.039 --> 00:02:41.139 in it that completely transcended the holiday 00:02:41.139 --> 00:02:44.580 season. It's beloved. It's stately and historically 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:47.400 speaking, it is massive. It's defined the Polish 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:49.900 soul for over two centuries. It's the kind of 00:02:49.900 --> 00:02:51.900 song that when the first chord hits, everyone 00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:53.919 in the room instinctively stands up a little 00:02:53.919 --> 00:02:56.080 straighter. So our mission today is to figure 00:02:56.080 --> 00:02:58.949 out how that actually happened. How does a song 00:02:58.949 --> 00:03:02.330 written in 1792? A time when the world was completely 00:03:02.330 --> 00:03:04.349 different, by the way. Right. How does it become 00:03:04.349 --> 00:03:07.090 a symbol of survival for a modern nation? We're 00:03:07.090 --> 00:03:08.830 going to look at the historical records, the 00:03:08.830 --> 00:03:11.370 literary analysis, and the cultural impact. We 00:03:11.370 --> 00:03:13.490 need to impact those rhetorical tautologies. 00:03:13.750 --> 00:03:16.530 Which is a fancy way of saying oxymorons. Yes, 00:03:16.530 --> 00:03:19.310 exactly. The oxymorons that make the lyrics a 00:03:19.310 --> 00:03:21.909 literary and theological masterpiece. And we 00:03:21.909 --> 00:03:24.710 are going to connect a 16th century coronation 00:03:24.710 --> 00:03:28.139 dance to a prisoner barracks in Auschwitz? And 00:03:28.139 --> 00:03:31.180 finally, yes, to Civilization V. It's a journey 00:03:31.180 --> 00:03:33.780 from the Baroque palaces of the aristocracy, 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:36.599 street to the darkest corners of the 20th century, 00:03:36.620 --> 00:03:39.599 and then right into the digital age. It is a 00:03:39.599 --> 00:03:42.199 wild ride. So let's start at the beginning, the 00:03:42.199 --> 00:03:44.300 origin story. Let's do it. We are setting the 00:03:44.300 --> 00:03:49.199 time machine to the year 1792. A very, very significant 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:51.979 year in European history, and specifically for 00:03:51.979 --> 00:03:54.080 Poland. Right, set the scene for us. What is 00:03:54.080 --> 00:03:56.659 the mood? Well, you have to understand the anxiety 00:03:56.659 --> 00:03:59.800 of the era. The country is on the brink of major 00:03:59.800 --> 00:04:02.460 political upheaval. This is the era of the Partitions. 00:04:02.819 --> 00:04:04.960 The Partitions. So Poland is being carved up? 00:04:05.180 --> 00:04:07.379 Exactly. Poland, which had been a massive commonwealth, 00:04:07.479 --> 00:04:09.360 is actively being carved up by its neighbors. 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:12.699 Russia? Prussia, Austria? Yes. The nation is 00:04:12.699 --> 00:04:14.780 literally disappearing from the map. It's not 00:04:14.780 --> 00:04:17.310 a metaphor. It's an existential crisis. It's 00:04:17.310 --> 00:04:19.149 not just a matter of, oh, we might lose a war 00:04:19.149 --> 00:04:23.230 and pay a tax. It's we might cease to exist as 00:04:23.230 --> 00:04:27.350 a people. Precisely. And amidst this rapid crumbling 00:04:27.350 --> 00:04:30.370 of the state, we have a poet named Franciszek 00:04:30.370 --> 00:04:33.290 Karpieski. Karpieski. He's the guy behind the 00:04:33.290 --> 00:04:36.149 words. Yes. Who was he exactly? Was he a soldier, 00:04:36.649 --> 00:04:39.430 a politician? Neither, actually. He was widely 00:04:39.430 --> 00:04:41.170 known as the Poet of the Heart. Poet of the Heart. 00:04:41.290 --> 00:04:43.930 Yes, he was a sentimentalist. He wasn't a firebrand 00:04:43.930 --> 00:04:46.329 radical yelling in the streets. He was an educated 00:04:46.329 --> 00:04:49.670 man, deeply religious, but also deeply connected 00:04:49.670 --> 00:04:51.730 to the culture of the nobility. Okay, so he's 00:04:51.730 --> 00:04:54.829 moving at high circles. Very high. And in 1792, 00:04:54.949 --> 00:04:57.009 he publishes a compilation of his works titled 00:04:57.009 --> 00:05:00.290 Pini Nabun. Which translates to Songs of Piety. 00:05:00.649 --> 00:05:04.550 Right, Songs of Piety. That sounds, um... Very 00:05:04.550 --> 00:05:07.170 serious. Very churchy. It was intended to be. 00:05:07.209 --> 00:05:09.670 This wasn't a pop album release. You know, this 00:05:09.670 --> 00:05:12.149 was a collection of religious works intended 00:05:12.149 --> 00:05:14.750 to genuinely deepen the spiritual life of the 00:05:14.750 --> 00:05:16.750 reader. But the production of this book is interesting 00:05:16.750 --> 00:05:19.550 in itself. Very. It wasn't printed in a big city 00:05:19.550 --> 00:05:22.610 hub like Warsaw or Krakow. Where was it printed? 00:05:22.850 --> 00:05:25.149 It was printed by the bazillion monks. The bazillion 00:05:25.149 --> 00:05:28.230 monks. That's a very specific detail in the sources. 00:05:28.509 --> 00:05:31.069 Why does that matter? It matters because it anchors 00:05:31.069 --> 00:05:34.069 the song in the eastern borderlands of the Commonwealth. 00:05:35.129 --> 00:05:38.209 The bazillions were a Greek Catholic order. OK, 00:05:38.250 --> 00:05:40.889 so a different tradition entirely. Yes. And they 00:05:40.889 --> 00:05:43.410 had a printing shop in a town called Supershol. 00:05:44.410 --> 00:05:47.550 So you have this amazing convergence of a lay 00:05:47.550 --> 00:05:51.069 poet, Karpiysky. and a monastic order bringing 00:05:51.069 --> 00:05:53.470 this work into the world. It shows that this 00:05:53.470 --> 00:05:55.949 was a project of faith from the ground up, not 00:05:55.949 --> 00:05:59.230 some royal decree. Exactly. But the debut of 00:05:59.230 --> 00:06:01.529 the song wasn't just ink on paper. Right. It 00:06:01.529 --> 00:06:03.529 wasn't like people just read the lyrics in a 00:06:03.529 --> 00:06:05.430 quiet room and nodded along. It was performed 00:06:05.430 --> 00:06:08.009 live. Correct. And the location of that first 00:06:08.009 --> 00:06:10.170 performance tells you a lot about the social 00:06:10.170 --> 00:06:13.029 standing of Karpinski and the song itself. Because 00:06:13.029 --> 00:06:14.870 Karpinski wasn't living in a garret somewhere 00:06:14.870 --> 00:06:19.329 starving. Not at all. From 1785 to 1818, he lived 00:06:19.329 --> 00:06:22.089 in the Bruniki Palace in Bialystok. The Bruniki 00:06:22.089 --> 00:06:23.889 Palace. I looked this up before we started. It's 00:06:23.889 --> 00:06:26.350 often called the Versailles of Poland. It absolutely 00:06:26.350 --> 00:06:29.569 was. We are talking about serious opulence here. 00:06:30.230 --> 00:06:33.189 Elaborate gardens, sculptures, gold leaf everywhere. 00:06:33.470 --> 00:06:36.569 Precisely. It was a major center of culture in 00:06:36.569 --> 00:06:39.550 high society. And the song was presented publicly 00:06:39.550 --> 00:06:42.149 in the old basilica in Bayashtok. Just down the 00:06:42.149 --> 00:06:44.990 road from the palace. Yes. In fact, historical 00:06:44.990 --> 00:06:47.069 records suggest it was performed there even before 00:06:47.069 --> 00:06:48.930 the book was officially published. Wow. So it 00:06:48.930 --> 00:06:51.670 was a live premiere. Imagine the scene. You have 00:06:51.670 --> 00:06:55.009 the aristocracy, the local faithful, the absolute 00:06:55.009 --> 00:06:57.889 tension of the looming war outside. And then 00:06:57.889 --> 00:07:01.649 this song debuts in a massive, echoing basilica. 00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:05.060 I love that there is a physical, tangible reminder 00:07:05.060 --> 00:07:06.959 of this, too. If you go to that church today, 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:09.079 there's a tablet on the wall, right? There is. 00:07:09.139 --> 00:07:10.579 It's a commemorative tablet right there in the 00:07:10.579 --> 00:07:13.699 masonry that reads, in this church for the first 00:07:13.699 --> 00:07:17.879 time ever. Songs of Piety by Franciszek Karpiski 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:20.680 were performed. That is so cool. It grounds the 00:07:20.680 --> 00:07:23.680 song in a specific physical place. You can stand 00:07:23.680 --> 00:07:25.420 exactly where the first listeners stood when 00:07:25.420 --> 00:07:27.120 they heard those opening chords. Yeah. It makes 00:07:27.120 --> 00:07:29.480 the history incredibly tangible. Now we know 00:07:29.480 --> 00:07:32.620 it today as Bugsay Rodsey God is born because 00:07:32.620 --> 00:07:35.319 that's the first line. And that's how we usually 00:07:35.319 --> 00:07:38.160 name songs in the folk tradition. Just grab the 00:07:38.160 --> 00:07:39.860 first words. But that wasn't the original title 00:07:39.860 --> 00:07:42.050 on the track list, was it? Now, technically, 00:07:42.230 --> 00:07:44.990 the title in the original publication was Pies 00:07:44.990 --> 00:07:47.970 o narod sinu paschim. Which means what, exactly? 00:07:48.029 --> 00:07:51.209 On God's nativity, or song of the birth of our 00:07:51.209 --> 00:07:54.009 Lord. OK, so a much more formal, descriptive 00:07:54.009 --> 00:07:57.990 title. Yes. Bogsirazi is just the insipid, the 00:07:57.990 --> 00:08:00.990 first phrase. But God is born is so immediate, 00:08:01.129 --> 00:08:04.329 so punchy, that it just overtook the formal title 00:08:04.329 --> 00:08:07.360 in common usage. It is punchier. God is born. 00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:10.019 Boom. Immediate action. It is. And it's present 00:08:10.019 --> 00:08:12.459 tense, too. It's not God was born. It's God is 00:08:12.459 --> 00:08:15.379 born. That's a really key observation. It sets 00:08:15.379 --> 00:08:17.540 the stakes right away and makes the event current. 00:08:17.819 --> 00:08:19.519 It's happening right now in the room with you. 00:08:19.779 --> 00:08:22.240 So we have the lyrics by Karpiysky. We have the 00:08:22.240 --> 00:08:25.680 specific place it debuted. But a song is 50 percent 00:08:25.680 --> 00:08:28.300 music. Maybe more than 50 percent. True. So who 00:08:28.300 --> 00:08:30.579 wrote the melody? This is one of the great mysteries 00:08:30.579 --> 00:08:33.700 of the piece, actually. The composer is completely 00:08:33.700 --> 00:08:36.049 unknown. Really? Even with all that documentation 00:08:36.049 --> 00:08:38.129 about the printing shop and the palace debut. 00:08:38.429 --> 00:08:40.750 We know where Carpieschi slept, but we don't 00:08:40.750 --> 00:08:42.789 know who wrote the notes. Even with all that, 00:08:42.789 --> 00:08:44.649 we don't have a specific name attached to the 00:08:44.649 --> 00:08:47.409 notes. This isn't the case of a famous singer 00:08:47.409 --> 00:08:50.210 -songwriter duo like a Lennon and McCartney of 00:08:50.210 --> 00:08:52.470 the 1700s. So where did the music come from? 00:08:52.730 --> 00:08:54.929 The melody seems to have just emerged from the 00:08:54.929 --> 00:08:57.730 cultural ether, or perhaps it was adapted from 00:08:57.730 --> 00:09:00.809 an existing theme. Some musicologists argue it 00:09:00.809 --> 00:09:02.450 might have been adapted from a Polonaise that 00:09:02.450 --> 00:09:05.039 was already popular at the court. But no single 00:09:05.039 --> 00:09:07.860 composer claims it. No. But even if we don't 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:10.820 know the who, we certainly know the what. We 00:09:10.820 --> 00:09:13.559 know the style. And this is critical. Because 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:15.460 when I think of Christmas carols, I think of 00:09:15.460 --> 00:09:18.559 Silent Night. Right. I think of lullabies. I 00:09:18.559 --> 00:09:22.419 think of swaying gently in 34 time, trying my 00:09:22.419 --> 00:09:24.960 absolute best not to wake the sleeping baby. 00:09:25.299 --> 00:09:28.279 Exactly. Most carols traditionally lean heavily 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:30.940 towards the pastoral. They are literal lullabies 00:09:30.940 --> 00:09:35.159 for a baby. They are intimate. quiet, very domestic. 00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:38.360 But Bogsy Rodsy is different. It is a polonaise. 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:41.519 A polonaise. Now for anyone listening who may 00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:44.639 be skipped music appreciation class or who only 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:46.899 knows that word from a classical piano playlist, 00:09:47.259 --> 00:09:49.980 let's unpack what that actually means. A polonaise, 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:54.139 or plonaise in Polish, is a dance. But not like 00:09:54.139 --> 00:09:57.340 a club dance. No, that word dance might actually 00:09:57.340 --> 00:10:00.440 be misleading to modern ears. It's not a fast 00:10:00.440 --> 00:10:02.559 jig. It's not a waltz where you spin around the 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:05.559 floor dizzyingly fast. What is it then? It is 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:09.340 a stately, royal, ceremonial procession. It's 00:10:09.340 --> 00:10:12.039 in 34 time, yes, but it has a very specific, 00:10:12.039 --> 00:10:14.360 majestic rhythm. How does it go? It goes dee 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:16.419 da da dee da da da. It's a walking dance. It's 00:10:16.419 --> 00:10:18.159 the kind of music you walk into a throne room 00:10:18.159 --> 00:10:19.960 to. It's the music you play when you want to 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:21.919 show off your uniform and your medal. Exactly. 00:10:22.019 --> 00:10:24.039 It's the sound of royalty. It is literally the 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:26.580 dance of the nobility, the szlachta. Yeah. And 00:10:26.580 --> 00:10:29.100 historically, this specific melody is traditionally 00:10:29.100 --> 00:10:31.700 linked to the coronation of Polish kings. Wait, 00:10:31.740 --> 00:10:33.620 so let me get this straight. They took a melody 00:10:33.620 --> 00:10:36.539 used to crown kings like political earthly kings 00:10:36.539 --> 00:10:38.919 with swords and armies, and they used it for 00:10:38.919 --> 00:10:41.919 a baby in a manger. Yes. And the connection dates 00:10:41.919 --> 00:10:44.220 back as far as the reign of King Stefan Batallatori 00:10:44.220 --> 00:10:48.059 in the 16th century. The 16th century. Yes. There 00:10:48.059 --> 00:10:51.960 are clear, undeniable melodic similarities to 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:55.139 the coronation music of that era. That is a bold, 00:10:55.179 --> 00:10:58.220 bold move. That is a subversive move. It creates 00:10:58.220 --> 00:11:00.580 a fascinating contrast, doesn't it? You're singing 00:11:00.580 --> 00:11:04.120 about a helpless infant, a baby born in a shed, 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:06.480 as the lyrics eventually mention. Right. But 00:11:06.480 --> 00:11:08.779 the music is telling your subconscious that this 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:12.840 is a king. It's a literal coronation anthem applied 00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:15.240 to the King of Heaven. It changes the energy 00:11:15.240 --> 00:11:17.200 entirely. As I said, Silent Night makes you want 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:19.600 to whisper so you don't wake the baby. This song 00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:21.940 makes you want to stand up straight and salute. 00:11:22.240 --> 00:11:25.399 It dignifies the event. It frames the nativity 00:11:25.399 --> 00:11:28.220 not just as a tender family moment, but as a 00:11:28.220 --> 00:11:30.799 massive cosmic royal event. The arrival of a 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:33.299 monarch. And for a nation that was actively losing 00:11:33.299 --> 00:11:35.220 its own monarchs, losing its own sovereignty 00:11:35.220 --> 00:11:37.899 at that exact moment in time. Singing about a 00:11:37.899 --> 00:11:40.000 king who cannot be deposed. That is powerful. 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:42.000 Which brings us perfectly to the lyrics, because 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:44.840 if the music is full of royal dignity and structure, 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:48.019 the lyrics are full of well confusion, but a 00:11:48.019 --> 00:11:50.059 beautiful mathematical confusion. Controlled 00:11:50.059 --> 00:11:52.019 confusion, I would say. Let's look at the structure 00:11:52.019 --> 00:11:54.240 first. It's very rigid, isn't it? Extremely rigid. 00:11:54.379 --> 00:11:57.259 It consists of five verses. Each verse has exactly 00:11:57.259 --> 00:12:00.340 eight lines, and each line has exactly eight 00:12:00.340 --> 00:12:02.340 syllables. Eight lines, eight syllables. That 00:12:02.340 --> 00:12:05.620 is incredibly orderly. It really shows Karpieski's 00:12:05.620 --> 00:12:07.940 absolute discipline as a poet. He's building 00:12:07.940 --> 00:12:10.759 a very, very tight container for some very explosive 00:12:10.759 --> 00:12:13.539 ideas. He isn't rambling. Every single syllable 00:12:13.539 --> 00:12:16.279 counts. Okay, here is where it gets really, really 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:19.179 interesting for me. The first verse. It's famous 00:12:19.179 --> 00:12:21.960 for using a specific literary device. I remember 00:12:21.960 --> 00:12:24.539 learning about this back in high school, oxymoron. 00:12:24.600 --> 00:12:27.919 Yes, the oxymoron or what we might call rhetorical 00:12:27.919 --> 00:12:30.639 tautology in this more academic context. The 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:33.399 juxtaposition of two opposite words to create 00:12:33.399 --> 00:12:35.600 a new meaning. Exactly. So let's actually go 00:12:35.600 --> 00:12:37.460 through these because they are wild. The first 00:12:37.460 --> 00:12:41.470 line is God is born. Power is trembling. Stop 00:12:41.470 --> 00:12:43.470 there for a second. God is born. That implies 00:12:43.470 --> 00:12:45.990 a beginning, right? A vulnerability. Babies are 00:12:45.990 --> 00:12:48.710 born. God's usually just are. They exist outside 00:12:48.710 --> 00:12:51.509 of time. Right. But then power is trembling. 00:12:51.889 --> 00:12:54.070 Usually power makes other people tremble. If 00:12:54.070 --> 00:12:55.990 you have the power, you are the one making the 00:12:55.990 --> 00:12:58.519 earth shake. But here, power itself is afraid. 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:01.240 Yes, strength is trembling before vulnerability. 00:13:01.460 --> 00:13:03.460 Then the next line is, Lord of the heaven -beared. 00:13:03.600 --> 00:13:06.899 Or stripped, majesty versus nakedness. The absolute 00:13:06.899 --> 00:13:09.460 king of the universe is exposed without robes, 00:13:09.700 --> 00:13:11.899 without armor. And then my favorite one, which 00:13:11.899 --> 00:13:14.100 sounds like bad physics, but just incredible 00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:18.080 poetry, fire solidifying. Ogik sepni in Polish. 00:13:18.460 --> 00:13:22.009 Fire is solidifying. or fire congeals. Think 00:13:22.009 --> 00:13:24.409 about that image. It's an impossible physical 00:13:24.409 --> 00:13:27.809 change. Right. Fire is energy. It's heat movement 00:13:27.809 --> 00:13:30.629 plasma. Exactly. To solidify is to become cold, 00:13:30.750 --> 00:13:33.830 static, hard. Karpinski is saying that the dynamic, 00:13:33.909 --> 00:13:36.389 uncontainable energy of God has become a solid, 00:13:36.809 --> 00:13:40.090 touchable object, a human body. Wow. And then 00:13:40.090 --> 00:13:42.809 light is darkening. Again, the totally counterintuitive 00:13:42.809 --> 00:13:45.289 nature of the event. The source of light entering 00:13:45.289 --> 00:13:47.789 a delic world and perhaps darkening by hiding 00:13:47.789 --> 00:13:49.830 its true brilliance within a human body so it 00:13:49.830 --> 00:13:51.889 simply doesn't blind us. And then the kicker. 00:13:52.169 --> 00:13:54.370 The one that really lands the philosophical punch 00:13:54.370 --> 00:13:56.549 of the whole piece. The infinite is bounded. 00:13:56.710 --> 00:13:58.769 That is the theological core of the entire piece. 00:13:58.990 --> 00:14:02.370 The infinite is bounded. Ma granis niscit sunny. 00:14:02.789 --> 00:14:05.350 The limitless one has accepted limits. Think 00:14:05.350 --> 00:14:07.889 about the definition of God in classical theology. 00:14:08.149 --> 00:14:11.559 God is infinite. No beginning, no end, no physical 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:13.559 borders. Right. And then think about the definition 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:17.220 of a human. We are defined entirely by our boundaries. 00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:20.700 Our skin, our lifespan, our intellect. We're 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:23.159 limited creatures. We have an expiration date. 00:14:23.279 --> 00:14:27.440 We take up a specific amount of space. Yes. Karpieski 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:29.899 is saying that the infinite has voluntarily stepped 00:14:29.899 --> 00:14:33.059 inside the box of the finite. Why did Karpieski 00:14:33.059 --> 00:14:35.200 do this though? Was he just trying to be clever? 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:38.580 You know, showing off his vocabulary to the guys 00:14:38.580 --> 00:14:40.639 back at the Bernanke Palace. It wasn't just to 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:43.019 be clever. I mean, he was a skilled poet. But 00:14:43.019 --> 00:14:46.340 the purpose was to emphasize the miracle. How 00:14:46.340 --> 00:14:48.700 so? Well, if you are trying to describe something 00:14:48.700 --> 00:14:51.779 that is effectively impossible, God, who is everything 00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:54.639 becoming a human, who is small and fragile, you 00:14:54.639 --> 00:14:57.720 cannot use normal linear language. It falls short. 00:14:58.019 --> 00:15:00.690 Normal language breaks down completely. logic 00:15:00.690 --> 00:15:03.129 breaks down. You have to use impossible language 00:15:03.129 --> 00:15:05.269 to describe an impossible event. You have to 00:15:05.269 --> 00:15:08.070 crash concepts together to make a spark. Exactly. 00:15:08.250 --> 00:15:10.289 The paradox is the point. You can't explain it. 00:15:10.289 --> 00:15:12.610 You can only marvel at the contradiction. This 00:15:12.610 --> 00:15:14.549 analysis isn't just us reading into it either. 00:15:14.649 --> 00:15:16.549 This isn't just English majors over analyzing 00:15:16.549 --> 00:15:19.509 a pop song. Pope John Paul II was a huge fan 00:15:19.509 --> 00:15:21.809 of the song, right? He was a massive fan. And 00:15:21.809 --> 00:15:23.529 obviously as a Pole, he grew up singing it every 00:15:23.529 --> 00:15:26.759 year. But even as Pope, he... referenced it explicitly. 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:29.220 Really? When? There was a famous talk he gave 00:15:29.220 --> 00:15:33.220 on December 23, 1996, at the Paul VI Auditorium 00:15:33.220 --> 00:15:36.960 in the Vatican. He actually used Bogsirazi to 00:15:36.960 --> 00:15:39.799 explain the theology of the incarnation to the 00:15:39.799 --> 00:15:42.600 entire world. What did he actually say? He said, 00:15:43.419 --> 00:15:45.480 in assuming human nature, the infinite God at 00:15:45.480 --> 00:15:47.919 the same time assumed the limitations of a creature. 00:15:48.259 --> 00:15:51.409 That's a direct parallel to the poem. Yes. He 00:15:51.409 --> 00:15:54.610 pointed out that the poet used these exact contrasts 00:15:54.610 --> 00:15:56.570 to express what is essential to the mystery. 00:15:57.129 --> 00:15:59.769 He basically used Karpiysky as a primary theological 00:15:59.769 --> 00:16:02.210 source. It's amazing to think of a pope citing 00:16:02.210 --> 00:16:04.850 a folk carol well, a national hymn to teach high 00:16:04.850 --> 00:16:07.970 theology. It shows how deeply embedded this song 00:16:07.970 --> 00:16:10.269 is and the Polish understanding of faith. It's 00:16:10.269 --> 00:16:12.889 not just a song, it's a catechism. And the lyrics 00:16:12.889 --> 00:16:15.129 aren't just poetic invention either. They are 00:16:15.129 --> 00:16:17.590 deeply, deeply biblical. They are. They are supported 00:16:17.590 --> 00:16:20.799 directly by the Gospel of John. You know, the 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:23.179 word became flesh and lived among us. Tarbeyski 00:16:23.179 --> 00:16:25.399 weaves that straight into the text. He does. 00:16:25.580 --> 00:16:28.059 The lyrics go, word turned flesh to prove the 00:16:28.059 --> 00:16:30.320 story lived among us, born of heaven. It's a 00:16:30.320 --> 00:16:34.059 perfect poetic translation of John 1 .12. So 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:38.019 you have high theology, profound biblical literacy, 00:16:38.139 --> 00:16:41.159 and impossible physics all wrapped up in a royal 00:16:41.159 --> 00:16:44.179 dance tune. It's a masterpiece. So we have this 00:16:44.179 --> 00:16:46.899 incredible theological opening, but then as we 00:16:46.899 --> 00:16:49.299 get to the end of the song, something shifts. 00:16:49.500 --> 00:16:51.860 We move from the cosmic to the specific. Yes, 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:54.500 we move from heaven down to earth. Verse five. 00:16:54.600 --> 00:16:57.059 This is the patriotic turn. And this is where 00:16:57.059 --> 00:16:59.580 the song truly earns its status as a national 00:16:59.580 --> 00:17:02.399 anthem. The song completely stops being just 00:17:02.399 --> 00:17:05.599 about baby Jesus and starts being about us or 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:07.579 specifically about Poland. It's a plea, isn't 00:17:07.579 --> 00:17:10.259 it? It is a desperate plea. The lyrics say, raise 00:17:10.259 --> 00:17:12.220 your hand now, child of glory, bless our homeland 00:17:12.220 --> 00:17:14.940 now and ever. That insertion is crucial. You 00:17:14.940 --> 00:17:18.279 have to remember the year 1792. Right. Poland 00:17:18.279 --> 00:17:21.230 is in deep. deep trouble. The wolves are at the 00:17:21.230 --> 00:17:24.450 door. The nation is facing partition. It is fighting 00:17:24.450 --> 00:17:28.130 for its very existence. So when Karpieski writes, 00:17:28.670 --> 00:17:31.690 bless our homeland, it's not a generic gentle 00:17:31.690 --> 00:17:34.069 prayer like bless this house or bless this food. 00:17:34.789 --> 00:17:37.589 It's an urgent political cry for national survival. 00:17:37.930 --> 00:17:40.710 It connects the divine blessing directly to the 00:17:40.710 --> 00:17:42.890 political and physical well -being of the nation. 00:17:43.109 --> 00:17:45.430 And that is exactly why it resonates so deeply 00:17:45.430 --> 00:17:48.839 in Polish history. It's not just save my soul, 00:17:48.980 --> 00:17:51.859 it's save my country. It binds the identity of 00:17:51.859 --> 00:17:54.140 the nation to the providence of God. And think 00:17:54.140 --> 00:17:57.980 about what happened just after 1795. Poland completely 00:17:57.980 --> 00:18:01.740 disappeared from the map for 123 years. 123 years. 00:18:01.880 --> 00:18:04.079 That's generations of people born living their 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:06.500 whole lives and dying without a legally recognized 00:18:06.500 --> 00:18:09.000 country. Exactly. So where did Poland exist in 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:11.079 that time? It didn't exist in a government. It 00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:13.200 didn't exist on any political map of Europe. 00:18:13.259 --> 00:18:15.420 It existed in the culture. It existed in the 00:18:15.420 --> 00:18:17.380 language, in the church, and in this song. Singing 00:18:17.380 --> 00:18:19.799 Bless Our Homeland was a profound act of defiance 00:18:19.799 --> 00:18:22.200 when the homeland didn't legally exist. It was 00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:24.240 a portable fatherland. That's a beautiful way 00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:26.700 to put it. Yes, a portable fatherland. And that 00:18:26.700 --> 00:18:29.400 binding that connection between the song and 00:18:29.400 --> 00:18:32.059 the nation's struggle, sadly, that was tested 00:18:32.059 --> 00:18:34.619 in the most horrific way possible in the 20th 00:18:34.619 --> 00:18:37.140 century. It was. If 1792 is the beginning of 00:18:37.140 --> 00:18:40.640 the tragedy, the 1940s were the absolute nadir. 00:18:40.940 --> 00:18:43.019 We need to shift the tone here for a moment. 00:18:43.259 --> 00:18:45.640 We are going from the palaces of the 18th century 00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:48.500 to the barracks of Auschwitz during World War 00:18:48.500 --> 00:18:50.660 II. This is one of the most powerful historical 00:18:50.660 --> 00:18:52.900 accounts regarding this carol. It comes from 00:18:52.900 --> 00:18:55.619 a prisoner named Joseph Jedritsch. And his account 00:18:55.619 --> 00:18:57.799 is preserved in the Auschwitz Museum collections, 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:00.019 right? Yes, it is. It gives us a window into 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:03.019 what this song actually does in a crisis. Not 00:19:03.019 --> 00:19:05.220 just what it means, but what it does. Set the 00:19:05.220 --> 00:19:07.619 scene for us. What did Jedritsch experience? 00:19:07.980 --> 00:19:09.940 It's Christmas Eve in the camp. Now you have 00:19:09.940 --> 00:19:12.519 to imagine the sensory details, the utter darkness, 00:19:12.900 --> 00:19:15.480 the freezing cold. Polish winters are brutal, 00:19:15.859 --> 00:19:18.440 and these men have no proper clothing. Just those 00:19:18.440 --> 00:19:20.940 thin striped uniforms. Right. The smell of the 00:19:20.940 --> 00:19:23.619 barracks, the overwhelming despair, and then 00:19:23.619 --> 00:19:26.099 the German guards and perhaps some favorite prisoners 00:19:26.099 --> 00:19:29.099 began singing German carols. Probably still knock 00:19:29.099 --> 00:19:31.460 Silent Night or something similar. Most likely. 00:19:31.920 --> 00:19:35.289 Traditional beautiful German carols. but for 00:19:35.289 --> 00:19:38.289 the Polish prisoners hearing the language of 00:19:38.289 --> 00:19:40.490 their oppressors singing about the Prince of 00:19:40.490 --> 00:19:42.730 Peace. It must have been jarring. It must have 00:19:42.730 --> 00:19:44.690 felt like a profound mockery. So what did they 00:19:44.690 --> 00:19:47.210 do? Did they just stay silent? They responded. 00:19:47.950 --> 00:19:50.450 Jendrik describes it vividly. He says the Polish 00:19:50.450 --> 00:19:53.670 prisoners began to sing Bogzy Rodzy. They sang 00:19:53.670 --> 00:19:56.900 the Coronation Polonaise? Yes. Jendrik described 00:19:56.900 --> 00:20:00.400 the sound of the Polish carol rising up as waves 00:20:00.400 --> 00:20:03.299 of the sea that came with powerful words. Waves 00:20:03.299 --> 00:20:07.180 of the sea, that implies a real force, an overwhelming 00:20:07.180 --> 00:20:09.579 volume. They weren't just whispering in the corner. 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:12.200 They were singing. And think about the specific 00:20:12.200 --> 00:20:14.680 lyrics they were singing in that moment. God 00:20:14.680 --> 00:20:18.900 is born, the powers tremble. Wow. Stop and just 00:20:18.900 --> 00:20:21.259 think about that. In the context of a concentration 00:20:21.259 --> 00:20:24.019 camp. Power is trembling takes on a completely 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:26.420 different meaning. In the theology, power trembling 00:20:26.420 --> 00:20:29.279 means the spiritual powers or the abstract concept 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:31.940 of power bowing before God. But in Auschwitz? 00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:35.079 In Auschwitz, the powers are the Nazis. The powers 00:20:35.079 --> 00:20:37.599 are the SS guards standing outside with machine 00:20:37.599 --> 00:20:39.799 guns. The powers are the electrified fences, 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:42.759 the watchtowers. By singing that line, the prisoners 00:20:42.759 --> 00:20:45.299 were totally recontextualizing their reality. 00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:47.539 They were declaring that the earthly tyranny 00:20:47.539 --> 00:20:49.900 they were facing, which seemed absolutely absolute 00:20:49.900 --> 00:20:52.740 and invincible, was actually trembling before 00:20:52.740 --> 00:20:55.220 a higher power. It's an act of pure defiance. 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:58.740 It's psychological warfare. absolute spiritual 00:20:58.740 --> 00:21:01.920 defiance, asserting human dignity in a place 00:21:01.920 --> 00:21:04.319 designed specifically to strip it away. It's 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:06.599 saying, you may have the guns, you may have the 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:09.140 dogs, but you are trembling before the truth 00:21:09.140 --> 00:21:11.319 we are singing about. It gives me chills just 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:14.240 thinking about it. That transition from a theological 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:17.420 paradox in a palace to a political weapon of 00:21:17.420 --> 00:21:19.779 hope in a death camp. It transforms the song 00:21:19.779 --> 00:21:22.019 from a hymn into armor. It really proves that 00:21:22.019 --> 00:21:24.799 a song is never just a song. It completely changes 00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:26.940 based on where it is sung and who was singing 00:21:26.940 --> 00:21:29.680 it. In the palace, it was majestic. In the camp, 00:21:29.680 --> 00:21:32.400 it was revolutionary. And speaking of who is 00:21:32.400 --> 00:21:34.559 singing it and where it ends up, the song didn't 00:21:34.559 --> 00:21:36.599 stay in the 18th century and it didn't stay in 00:21:36.599 --> 00:21:40.059 the 1940s. It is literally everywhere in modern 00:21:40.059 --> 00:21:42.680 culture. It is culturally ubiquitous in Poland 00:21:42.680 --> 00:21:45.259 today. If you look at the list of artists who 00:21:45.259 --> 00:21:47.440 have covered it, it's basically a who's who of 00:21:47.440 --> 00:21:50.500 Polish music. We're talking Anna Maria, Jopak, 00:21:50.619 --> 00:21:55.319 Violetta, Vilesz, Mikash, Bajor, Krzysztof, Krasik, 00:21:55.440 --> 00:21:59.650 Eleni Tzoka. Pop stars, jazz singers. Opera singers. 00:21:59.970 --> 00:22:02.069 Different styles, different eras, but they all 00:22:02.069 --> 00:22:04.390 return to this one hymn. It's a standard. You 00:22:04.390 --> 00:22:06.210 simply cannot get through a Polish Christmas 00:22:06.210 --> 00:22:07.910 without hearing it. It's like white Christmas 00:22:07.910 --> 00:22:10.329 in the U .S. but with way more historical baggage. 00:22:10.549 --> 00:22:13.650 Way more. But, and here's where it gets really, 00:22:13.690 --> 00:22:15.490 really interesting for the gamers out there. 00:22:15.490 --> 00:22:18.769 I love this part. This 1792 carol has found a 00:22:18.769 --> 00:22:21.490 totally new life in the digital world. And I 00:22:21.490 --> 00:22:23.329 bet Francis Czech -Karpaczewski never saw this 00:22:23.329 --> 00:22:25.450 coming. No, I don't think the video game soundtrack 00:22:25.450 --> 00:22:28.109 was on his bingo card. But yes, this is a fascinating 00:22:28.039 --> 00:22:30.539 fascinating crossover. Bogsy Rodsey is featured 00:22:30.539 --> 00:22:33.640 in the video game Civilization V. Specifically, 00:22:34.119 --> 00:22:36.660 in the Brave New World expansion pack. Right. 00:22:37.000 --> 00:22:38.960 And for those who don't know, Civilization is 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:42.039 a massive game where you pick a leader and build 00:22:42.039 --> 00:22:44.660 an empire that stands the test of time. You can 00:22:44.660 --> 00:22:48.000 play as the Romans, the Americans, the Zulus. 00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:50.880 And you can play as the Polish Civilization. 00:22:50.940 --> 00:22:53.759 Which is led by King Casimir III the Great, a 00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:56.630 medieval king. So imagine this. You are playing 00:22:56.630 --> 00:22:59.910 a global strategy game. You are building cities, 00:22:59.990 --> 00:23:02.829 researching technologies, waging wars against 00:23:02.829 --> 00:23:05.660 Gandhi or Napoleon. And the theme music representing 00:23:05.660 --> 00:23:08.619 the entire Polish civilization is an instrumental 00:23:08.619 --> 00:23:11.500 version of a Christmas carol. It speaks to how 00:23:11.500 --> 00:23:14.900 identifiable that melody truly is. The game composers, 00:23:15.160 --> 00:23:17.700 specifically Jeff Knorr, needed a shorthand for 00:23:17.700 --> 00:23:19.740 Poland. They needed a sound. They needed a melody 00:23:19.740 --> 00:23:21.700 that instantly communicated the spirit of that 00:23:21.700 --> 00:23:24.059 nation to a global audience. They didn't choose 00:23:24.059 --> 00:23:26.299 a generic folk dance. They didn't choose a modern 00:23:26.299 --> 00:23:29.420 pop song. They chose Bogsioradzi. It completely 00:23:29.420 --> 00:23:31.799 reinforces that idea we started with. That this 00:23:31.799 --> 00:23:34.059 isn't just a holiday song, it's a national anthem 00:23:34.059 --> 00:23:36.759 equivalent. It encapsulates the history. The 00:23:36.759 --> 00:23:39.220 Royal Polonaise rhythm fits a game about kings 00:23:39.220 --> 00:23:42.440 and empires perfectly. It sounds noble. It sounds 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:44.880 like a nation that has survived. It's so funny 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:47.539 to think of a gamer in, say, Brazil or Japan, 00:23:48.079 --> 00:23:50.380 humming along to this tune while conquering the 00:23:50.380 --> 00:23:52.819 map, maybe not realizing they are humming a song 00:23:52.819 --> 00:23:55.839 about the incarnation from 1792. That is the 00:23:55.839 --> 00:23:58.819 power of great art. It travels. It crosses borders 00:23:58.819 --> 00:24:02.240 and mediums. It carries the DNA of the culture, 00:24:02.559 --> 00:24:04.720 even if the listener doesn't know a single lyric. 00:24:04.970 --> 00:24:07.349 So let's recap this journey. This has been quite 00:24:07.349 --> 00:24:10.589 a ride. We started in a palace in Bayashtok in 00:24:10.589 --> 00:24:14.049 1792 with Francisc Karpieski and the bazillion 00:24:14.049 --> 00:24:16.390 monks facing the end of their nation. We moved 00:24:16.390 --> 00:24:18.730 through the mystery of the composer and the majesty 00:24:18.730 --> 00:24:21.190 of the polonaise rhythm, that royal coronation 00:24:21.190 --> 00:24:23.029 dance for the king of heaven. We saw how the 00:24:23.029 --> 00:24:25.589 music itself subverted the idea of power entirely. 00:24:25.880 --> 00:24:28.160 We unpack the fire solidifying and the light 00:24:28.160 --> 00:24:30.859 darkening, those incredible oxymorons that capture 00:24:30.859 --> 00:24:33.180 the impossible nature of God becoming man. We 00:24:33.180 --> 00:24:35.759 saw how Pope John Paul II used those very lines 00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:38.019 to teach the world. We saw how the patriotic 00:24:38.019 --> 00:24:40.619 verse tied the song to the survival of the nation, 00:24:41.160 --> 00:24:43.839 acting as a portable fatherland during the 123 00:24:43.839 --> 00:24:46.099 years of partition. And we saw it lead to the 00:24:46.099 --> 00:24:47.880 freezing barracks of Auschwitz, where it became 00:24:47.880 --> 00:24:51.039 a literal roar of defiance against tyranny. And 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:54.579 finally, we saw it land in pop culture. and even 00:24:54.579 --> 00:24:57.579 video games proving its incredible staying power. 00:24:58.160 --> 00:25:00.519 It's survived wars, regimes and technological 00:25:00.519 --> 00:25:03.440 revolutions. It really confirms that Boggsy Rodsey 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:06.319 is far more than a hymn. It is a container for 00:25:06.319 --> 00:25:09.119 Polish identity. It blends faith, history, struggle 00:25:09.119 --> 00:25:12.799 and hope into those tight mathematical eight 00:25:12.799 --> 00:25:16.319 syllable lines. It's a masterpiece of cultural 00:25:16.319 --> 00:25:18.609 engineering. So what does this all mean for us? 00:25:18.829 --> 00:25:21.170 Why does this matter if you, the listener, aren't 00:25:21.170 --> 00:25:23.650 Polish or if you aren't religious? Why should 00:25:23.650 --> 00:25:26.349 you care about an 18th century carol? I think 00:25:26.349 --> 00:25:28.730 it matters because it shows us how art can actually 00:25:28.730 --> 00:25:31.029 function in the real world. It shows us that 00:25:31.029 --> 00:25:33.849 the most complex ideas, like the infinite being 00:25:33.849 --> 00:25:36.470 bounded, can be preserved in something as simple 00:25:36.470 --> 00:25:39.369 as a song. It reminds us that culture is a lifeline. 00:25:39.630 --> 00:25:42.400 Yes. In the darkest moments, like in those camps, 00:25:42.980 --> 00:25:45.099 people didn't recite political manifestos. They 00:25:45.099 --> 00:25:47.680 sang. They sang about a power that transcends 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:49.920 their current reality. That is a powerful thought. 00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:52.460 Art isn't just decoration. It's a survival tool. 00:25:52.559 --> 00:25:54.579 It is. It gives you a place to stand when the 00:25:54.579 --> 00:25:56.380 ground is shaking beneath you. I want to leave 00:25:56.380 --> 00:25:59.319 you with one final thought to mull over. We talked 00:25:59.319 --> 00:26:02.700 heavily about that line. The infinite is bounded. 00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:07.319 Yes, the central paradox of the piece. We usually 00:26:07.319 --> 00:26:10.259 think of boundaries as bad things. We live in 00:26:10.259 --> 00:26:12.680 a world that tells us constantly to be limitless. 00:26:13.220 --> 00:26:16.119 We want unlimited data, unlimited potential. 00:26:16.700 --> 00:26:19.180 We want to break all the rules. We want to be 00:26:19.180 --> 00:26:21.880 infinite. We see constraints as failures. But 00:26:21.880 --> 00:26:25.420 Karpieski suggests that true power True miracle 00:26:25.420 --> 00:26:28.099 is only found when the infinite actually accepts 00:26:28.099 --> 00:26:31.039 boundaries. When the limitless accepts limits. 00:26:31.220 --> 00:26:33.740 That is a profound paradox to live by. How often 00:26:33.740 --> 00:26:36.220 do we define things by their limitations? I can't 00:26:36.220 --> 00:26:38.180 do this because I don't have enough time or money 00:26:38.180 --> 00:26:40.779 or energy. But maybe just maybe the limitation 00:26:40.779 --> 00:26:42.460 is the whole point. Maybe the boundary is where 00:26:42.460 --> 00:26:45.000 the art happens. Where the life happens. You 00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:47.200 can't have a melody without the strict math of 00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:49.119 the rhythm. You can't have a painting without 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:51.720 the edge of the canvas. The fire must litify 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:55.039 to be touched. The infinite must be bounded to 00:26:55.039 --> 00:26:57.920 be known. Exactly. It's a thought that applies 00:26:57.920 --> 00:27:00.920 to leadership, to creativity, and really to the 00:27:00.920 --> 00:27:03.259 human condition itself. Something to think about 00:27:03.259 --> 00:27:05.880 next time you hit a wall. Because maybe that 00:27:05.880 --> 00:27:08.480 wall is where the miracle starts. Thanks for 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:09.779 diving in with us. Thank you.