The Yoke: Part 1

Okay, so bear with me. This is the part where I distill 15 years of teaching, coaching, mentoring, and leadership into one, no, let's make it two posts. The problem is I have so much more to say about all of these things; I have to remind myself that we're just getting started.

I'll start again with the words of Jesus, because anyone who knows me knows that his life and teachings have been the number one biggest influence on my life. He says (again, I'll paraphrase): "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, and you will find rest for your souls."

His yoke? What's with this odd, agrarian metaphor?

Well, in agrarian cultures like those of Jesus' day, it is the ox who pulls the plow (the horse was a weapon of war). Two oxen to be exact, and the yoke was the implement a farmer would have them wear to walk side by side and do the work. And when you had a young ox, who wasn't used to (or interested in) walking a straight line to plow a field, you'd put him next to a wiser, more experienced ox to learn the ropes. Jesus is effectively saying, "Life is already hard. Why don't you walk side-by-side with me and learn how I do it?" Essentially inviting us to do life his way.

There'll be time for more on Jesus and his teachings later. For now, what I'm focused on this idea of the yoke. The "yoke" I'm talking about is my experience, my teaching, everything I have to share with you, including my commitment to being all-in on you cultivating your terroir, your flourishing, and your success.

I love the yoke metaphor because it militates against the top down/alpha dog/pack mindset present in corporate America, where "the view only changes for the lead dog." Far from that, the yoke is fundamentally about coming alongside, pulling together, getting into the weeds, the hard ground and the deep mud of life, to plow a furrow.

So that, eventually, something will grow.

Sometimes I tell my students, "I only teach one class." So whether it's ethics or philosophy or a class on theology, the main content my students are getting is me. What I teach my students, no matter what class we're in, is the same thing I would share with you, of course customized for who you are, your life situation, personality, and so on. If you've ever had a class with me, or spent any length of time with me enough to go deep, you know this is what I have to offer. A yoke that is uniquely my own, but tailored specifically to you.

Remember, terroir is the connection, it's about cultivating and developing you. But what is this yoke I keep talking about? What is the 'one class' that can be tailored to anyone, anywhere?

Well, it starts with the assumption that there are such things in the world as beauty, goodness and truth. Forgive me for being a bit idealistic, but I still believe in these things, and I'll bet you do too, because you experience them on a daily basis. We all have access to them because they are universal, inescapable human experiences - they are deep in the core of our being.

We are captivated by the beauty of another human, moved with compassion when we witness a selfless act of massive generosity, we are compelled by the fact that given time, math never lies (even though statistics do!).

The medievals called beauty, goodness, and truth the Transcendentals. These are experiences of an objective reality that take us beyond our limited, finite selves and point us a higher reality, something, well, transcendent. Toward a common experience of humanity and something we all share. Call it the human spirit, call it the divine, call it God if you like, but for now, what you call it doesn't matter. What matters is that you recognize that deep within us, these eternal aspects of reality are tattooed on our neurology, our emotions, on our minds, and on our hearts.

In one sense, we all share a common humanity, and therefore anyone can tap into the realities of beauty, goodness, and truth. However, not everyone is on this pursuit with mindfulness and intentionality. I think of people who wind up on daytime TV shows. You know, the kind of shows you're forced to watch in the lobby while you're having your car serviced? In kindergarten, none of those people dreamed of winding up on daytime TV. They wanted to be a doctor, a firefighter, a police officer, or a teacher; they did not dream of wasting their lives and subsequently taking lie-detector tests on TV.

There is something that is fundamental to the journey. It is so basic that it is almost common knowledge. Except for the fact that a lot of us have forgotten it. The people on daytime TV surely have.

And that is this: to be on a journey, you have to begin. You have to life life in pursuit of it.

Every day, we choose whether or not to pursue after beauty, goodness, and truth. Pursued wholeheartedly, it becomes a lifestyle, with contour and shape and texture, and practical wisdom for daily life. The Greeks called it eudaimonia and it means something like a combination of happiness and human flourishing. It's the kind of happiness and fulfillment that comes from a rich, cultivated life of terroir.

Basically what I've been talking about all along.

We all want beauty, goodness, and truth. We want these things, because we know instinctively and from experience that they fill our lives with abundance and joy. We also know what the lack of these things looks like: our own faults, weakness, and bad decisions threaten to destroy the very life we've worked so hard to cultivate.

It's my belief that everyone has a longing for life as it's meant to be, or as I like to call it, the best possible way to live.

Now, I'm not saying that I know exactly what that way is! But I believe it's out there, that it can be grasped, even if it's only in fits and starts, and I'm pursuing it with all I've got. And it's that pursuit that I hope to share with you. That's the yoke that I'm inviting you into.

There's this Mumford and Sons song called The Cave that I love. It's maybe my favorite song of all time. I share it with my students every year at the beginning of an Intro to Philosophy class. The video is energetic and so beautifully shot, but also communicates the shared experience and connection that I've been talking about.

And there's this line in the song, right before the build, that goes:

Cause I need freedom now and I need to know how

To live my life as it's meant to be

Do you believe in that? That there's such as thing as "life as it's meant to be?"

I'm not trying to say that you have to live exactly the way I live, or believe exactly the way I believe. We're all way too diverse for that, with different backgrounds and experieces. But for the yoke to work, you do have to agree that there is a best possible way, and that we're going to pursue it together.

What I bring to our terroir is an ability to comprehend the world broadly, but also cut through it deeply, to get down the essence of the way things are, to the essence of who you are. I can slice through all the fog, all the noise, and help bring light and clarity out of darkness and confusion.

In Part 2, I'll give you more of the specifics: the contours and topography of our world and how they relate to you personally. Again, to get where you're going, you have to know where you've been. We'll talk about stories, the communities we're a part of, and the virtues and practices we need to negotiate a fundamentally dangerous but also beautiful and wondrous, existence.

(ill. cred. Kaelyn Joy Loverin)

It's time to come out of the cave and pursue the best possible way to live.

It's exciting to think about going there together. I hope you're still with me! Until next time.

Grace and peace,

Mat