Threshold Radio Andrew Kassen

Speaking the truth is in. Or maybe it’s the gratification those lobbing truthbombs and self-appointed crusaders of #realtalk seem to derive from setting the world straight. If you’re skeptical, it may be because, at best, truth is more a declaration of intent than a sustained force for real change. At worst, the egotism and sanctimony that being a “truth teller” creates isn’t illuminating at all, but only obfuscates further. So, once the truth is spoken, what do we do with it? Wendell Berry points the way.

Small ideas are everywhere. They sap motivation, siphon off meaning, and suffocate potential. Much like a virus, they invade at an imperceptible level, but left unchecked they can have total and terminal implications for your life. But at any moment, we have the choice to turn our gaze and cross over the threshold where fresh inspiration and aspirations are created. Note: Thanks to 65DaysofStatic for the title and initial spark of inspiration.

"Your actions speak so loudly, I can not hear what you are saying." Not exactly what Emerson wrote, but it catches the them of today's mini-episode perfectly. Actions speak truth, whether that truth is beautiful, noble and wise or false, blind and hateful. Not only that, but our actions are our truth - they are the living proof of who we are and what we are for or against. Whether in ourselves or others: the proof (and the truth) we want is in the doing.

What is the best diet for you? The answer should be objective, and relatively easy to find. We are biological organisms. We consume things that we can measure, analyze, and arrive at conclusions regarding. So why is this so frigging difficult? Well, because we aren't automatons. And it's the psychological complexity that this fact introduces that makes an easy question tough to answer. So where do we start? Right here in this episode.

Welcome another mini-episode The Threshold radio podcast. Thanks for joining me as I discuss "During" - that unglamorous period between the humble, dumpy, sadfaced "Before" and the proud and radiant "After" pictures plastered everywhere from Instagram to tabloid covers in the grocery store checkout. Though it goes mostly unnoticed , "During" is all the stuff that spans that arc of transformation. "During" is the life lived in between the frames of the highlight reel. Despite being unremarkably remarkable, how and whether we think about "During" is really how we think about and go about life itself.

Let's talk about what - ironically, given your feelings at the time -furthest from your mind right now: New Years Resolutions. Where did that feeling of can-do optimism go; and why? Is this year a wash for those aspirations you've lost along the way; or is it time to renew your vows and crush it, even though no one's looking?