A Year Of Humility (III): Definitions The Second

 Last week, as you might remember, we traced the Old English roots of the word we do not use for humility:

"For-ðam aelc þem hine up-ahefð byð genyðerud (ond) se þe hine niðereð se beoð up-ahafen."

- the word in question being genyðerud or niðereð , literally "to make one's self lower".  Yet somehow, this was not the word that made it into English.

For us, luckily, we know from which language the Scriptures were translated in Anglo-Saxon:  Latin.  And we have the Latin original:  "Quia omnis qui sé exaltat humiliabitur et qui sé humiliat exaltabitur." - Literally whoever raises himself up will be brought low, and whoever lowers himself will be lifted up.

The word in question is "humilitas", literally "to humble".  That is the definition in ecclesiastical Latin, and is generally meant in a positive sense, in opposition to pride.  The original definition in Classical Latin - the Latin in which the Scripture was translated - had a much more negative connotation.  It meant "lowness of mind, baseness, meanness".  One who was "humilitas" in Early or Middle Rome would not have been someone that anyone else of class or culture would wanted to emulate.  It was used of slaves or clients or less than desirable people.

But the Latin translation, of course, is based on the Greek.

Again, from Luke 14:11:  "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted".  In the Greek:“ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὑψῶν ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται καὶ ὁ ταπεινῶν ἑαυτὸν ὑψωθήσεται.“

The keyword here is ταπεινωθήσετα (tapeinotheseta), drawn from the Greek "tapeinophrosunē", which literally means "lowness of mind, humility of mind".  The verb (tapeinoo)  means "to make low" and the adjective (tapeinos) means "of low degree; to be brought low".  

So in a way, the Anglo-Saxons got it right via the Latin.  In each and every case the meaning of the word "Humility" was much more of a physical or mental state that it was a manner of living.

(In case you were wondering, the Hebrew does not get one off the hook either.  There were a couple of words that were used in the Old Testament:

 “kāna’” – To humble to subdue one’s self or enemies (appears 35 times in the OT

“sāpēl” - To be low, to become low (figuratively) (appears 25 times in the OT)

Noun:
“sēpēl” – Low condition, low estate (appears twice in the OT)

Adjective:

“sāpāl” – Low, humble (Isaiah 57:15: “I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble (sāpāl) spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble ( sāpāl), and to revive the heart of the contrite.”)

What is most useful to be emphasized at this point was that humility pre-Christian was not a thing that would have been desired in the Greco-Roman or early Anglo-Saxon society or really in many societies of the day.  Somehow, an undesirable trait - to be low, mean of mind or spirit -somehow went from an undesirable to a desirable.  In a way, that demonstrates the very nature of Christianity:  turning things on their head and making that which was despised glorious.

Running Before Dawn

The air is cold, a mite bitterly so, as I step off the sidewalk to start my run.

I have just hit the "Start" button on my phone timer and put it in my right pocket, my house keys safely ensconced in the small zippered pocket on the left side in my new blue cold weather running pants, a sort of upgraded yoga pants with "wicking material action" for those that go outside in such times.  It, along with the fancy new running shoes that are hitting the pavement (more than I have ever paid for a pair shoes; the pants and shoes brought to me by a corporate reward program that gives gift card cash for doing certain health things), carry me along as I head out of the parking lot and into the street.

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While I had started running in the Fall, I had let it slip down to a walk every morning.  But general Iaijutsu training, combined with a desire to not have a repeat of the 2023 Mt. Goddard Hike and resulting altitude sickness, has led me to picking it back up - if I cannot gain endurance by regular hiking at altitude (a challenge at the moment), at least I can gain lung capacity by running.

The weather here is off-putting to doing such things, the cold and rain enough to dismay even long-time residents, let alone a new transplant. But as friends here have told me, the weather is what it is:  you get the gear and go out and do the thing.  Thus the new pants and shoes.

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My running tends to take place between 0600 and 0640 in the morning: early enough that most traffic is off the road and still gets me back to my apartment with a comfortable interval to perform my remaining shower, breakfast, and blog reading/writing/responding.  That conveniently means that it is also dark; I like running in the dark (as opposed to light) for reasons that I cannot fully explain other than perhaps it helps me think as I go.

Another change to my running (versus my walking) is that I run without earbuds.  Sid Garza-Hillman in his book Ultrarunning for Normal People does the same; he says it helps him think and be creative.  I had noticed the same thing when I walked without such things and now find the same thing with running.  Many things over the last few weeks which have turned into blog posts have started as a thought as I ran through the cold, dark mornings.

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Sid makes another suggestion in his book, that mileage is more important than time (at least for trail running) and thus one should not feel the need to keep track of time.  Just run and keep track of distance.  As a person who is a slow runner at best, seldom have I read more welcome advice.

As a result my runs look more like leisurely jogs, at a pace where I could hold a conversation if I had to.  If I had to guess, I am losing a little bit of "time" by doing it this way, but the sense of not being rushed in my efforts more than compensates for any sort of loss of an imaginary goal of mile splits that have no meaning outside of my head.

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I am fortunate that I live in a planned development - as a result, I have level, well kept roads and lights pretty much all along the path.  It is a bit of struggle to feel out mileage, as I do not have a clear read until after I have completed my run and my I-phone catches up with me.  As a result, figuring out how much and how far has become an exercise is add streets and blocks to my run, then calculating the results, then adding some more on.

This remains the perfect time to run: traffic is low with only the occasional early riser out and driving to work in the neighborhood.  It is also fairly quiet; to the East one can hear the busier main road and occasionally the light rail bells break through as the train pulls in or leaves the station.  Beyond that it is just myself and my breath as I run.

Even in what is effectively the dead of Winter and cold (current lowest temperature run in is 32 F), the natural beauty continues to astound me.  With the amount of rain and the lack of sun, fog has become a feature of late, its tendrils drifting up to the sky and catching in the full moon and few visible stars through the bare trees.  It takes my breath away - or at least what is left of my breath as I run.

Even in the midst of physical effort and cold and dark and civilization, one can still find elements of beauty and wonder.  And so I huff on in wonder, feet pounding the pavement so loud that they seem to be the only thing I can hear as the mists wander through the cold morning air seeking the sun.

Essentialism (II): What Is An Essentialist?

In his book Essentialism, Greg McKeown begins with a story about a corporate executive.

It is story that is likely familiar to many who been somewhat successful at their position:  willing to try to what he was asked and being successful at what he was given, he continued to volunteer and amass work until he was busy to the point of being able to no longer be essential or effective.  He asked a mentor what he should do; his mentor suggested to stay on in his job, but instead of leaving and being a business consultant, act like a business consultant.

And so, he tried the experiment.

He tentatively started saying no to things he did not know if he could actually accomplish or complete  When no-one pushed back on that, he expanded his experiment to begin asking the question "Is this the most important thing I could be doing right now?"  If the answer was no, he would decline the request.

He started letting others jump in on e-mail threads, not attending meetings where he could make no contribution.  He started making space for his work - and his work became working one project at a time, allowing him to make thorough plans and anticipate and remove obstacles. He began making actual progress in his projects.  He began to find time to go home and spend time with his family again.  And his performance ratings went up to and then beyond where they had been.

McKeown notes "...in this example is the basic value proposition of Essentialism:  only give yourself permission to stop trying to do it all, to say yes to everyone, can you make your highest contribution towards the things that really matter."

The Essentialist, says McKeown, lives by the motto of the German Designer Dieter Rams of the German corporation Braun:  Wenige aber besser (Less but better). Like the Rams' design of the record player that took it from a wood cabinet behemoth piece of furniture to a plastic cover over the turntable (I owned some of these), the essentialist is in pursuit of better.  It is not about getting more things done, he suggests, but rather getting the right things done; "It is about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at our highest point of contribution by doing only what is essential."

The Essentialist lives by design, accepting that life involves trade-offs and decision that are difficult; that design means that the Essentialist lives by choice:  "The Essentialist deliberately distinguishes the vital few from the trivial many, eliminates the non-essentials, and then removes obstacles so the essential things have clear, smooth passage.  In other words, Essentialism is a disciplined, systematic approach for determining where our highest point of contribution lies, then making the execution of the those things effortless."

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Thoughts and Applications:

What strikes me most in reading this example is that I am precisely familiar with it, as likely are a lot of people.  We slowly get pulled into other things that are beyond our ability to influence or control because we are "in that department" or "we would like to have your voice in the room (although it is never called on)" or "this is a critical initiative".  Too, we are often inclined to help people when asked for help, often even at the cost of our own ability to do our work, because that is how we are raised as a people.

And to be clear, the application goes far beyond that of the workplace.  It strikes me that the idea of having to make to make choices (and accepting that this is so) is one I have attempted to disprove all my life.  I am one of those people that really does think I can do and be far more that is physically or temporally possible; as a result, I often lose the chance I do have to become better at something because I want to become okay at a lot of things.

McKeown uses the term "Life by design".  I like the idea of "life by design", but my application to this point has been "design in too much".  Clearly, that is not a winning philosophy.

The Collapse CLXXV: Murder

 09 Oct 20XX +1

My Dear Lucilius:

We seem to have had a murder.

I say “seem to”; I clearly was not present at the time. All that has been presented is that one person is dead, another person is accused of killing them, and we have something that needs to be resolved.

The circumstances of my own awareness are such: Yesterday I was out moving wood. Somewhere, to the West, a shot was fired. Then another. Then another. It was close enough that it sounded as if it were in town but not close enough that I could identify it.

Hmmm. Hunting, I thought to myself, then carried on about my business.

Later that day, Young Xerxes came around with more information and an urgent need for me to come with him. Apparently it was not a hunt; it was a killing.

I have mentioned before the RV Park and bar that is on the state highway through town. In times past this would have been closing up more or less as the Summer tourists would have left and few if any stay here through Winter in a Recreational Vehicle. Due to the relative suddenness of The Collapse, there were some that were essentially marooned here with not enough fuel to get anywhere worth getting.

Who they are I cannot really tell you; I seldom if ever went to the bar before and I simply do not go there now. Likely they came to the town meetings, but surely I would not have known them from anyone else; even I am somewhat considered an “Out of Towner” after living here as long as I have.

The facts, Young Xerxes explained as we walked the quarter mile to the Park, was that there was some kind of argument that escalated from words to pushing to shooting. Someone was clearly dead. Someone had clearly shot them.

By the time we arrived at the Park, there was a small crowd: Park residents obviously, local residents that heard the shots, and people that came out afterwards as this was the biggest thing that had happened in months. Two men held a third man, struggling to get free. In front of a long block-like Recreational Vehicle (are they not all long and block-like) was a series of blood stains. To the side, in the shade of the bar, was a covered body and a grieving woman.

And shouting. There was a lot of shouting, shouting coming from some men and women by the grieving woman, others from the man in custody, others from men and women by him.

The shouting went on until Young Xerxes fired a shot. The silence, as they say, was deafening.

The question quickly became what to do – with the body, with the captive, with the murder.

For the body, burial that day was obviously in order. The men by the body said they would take care of that.

For the captive, there were – not surprisingly – two counterarguments. One was the shouts of “Execute him!”, the other of “It was justified!”. Young Xerxes – who never seems to have a problem making a decision – delegated two men to take him into the bar and hold them there.

Finally, what to do about the murder.

Judging from the shouts, there were obviously two different points of view with what would have been very different outcomes.

“A trial, then” suggested Young Xerxes in a voice that would not be brooked for opposition.

“But who will judge?” shouted the grieving woman. “I do not trust anyone that has lived here for years.”

“But not someone that has not lived here at all” came the response from out of the crowd.

Young Xerxes slowly scanned the crowd. “Not an outsider, not a life-long resident. Perhaps someone with experience and knowledge. Perhaps even someone that has already served this town loyally. Perhaps….my father in law?”

All eyes turned to me.

It seems, Lucilius, I need to quickly brush up on my legal proceedings.

Your Obedient Servant, Seneca

New Home 3.0: The Great Arrival of The Ravishing Mrs. TB

 Today marks the formal arrival of The Ravishing Mrs. TB.

For the record, this brings us together (more or less - see below) after approximately 10 months of living apart.  Not consistently, of course - I had made a few trips back and she had made a few trips here and we met at least one time at third location (San Diego).  But by and large, we have been apart.

I have to admit it will be a little bit odd to have someone living in the house with me again.  10 months is enough time to develop your own habits and ways of living -  - my meals, for example, are probably atrocious by the standards of dining in that they tend to consume as little time as possible to make and eat.  And while most of the things are put away not everything is and I have become comfortable living with the disarray (That, also, will likely change).

I say more or less - she is going back to New Home 2.0 in February to take care of some last things before the move, then will be gone a few days in March, then down to Old Home to help her mother, then out to New Home in May, then in June... you get the idea.  "Great Arrival" does not mean "Final Arrival".

It also means - by default - that her former employment will have ended.  Fortunately through my relocation, she has a twelve month support program for resume help and a job search - although she has joking referred to the upcoming year as her "adult gap year".

Still, after 10 months, it will be nice to have here.  Although, I suppose, I will probably have to sit down and really "eat dinner" again...

2024 Turkey: Ruins of Güzelyurt

 Prior to the 1924 Population exchange - an event where entire populations of Greek and Turkish citizens switched countries to be within ethnic national borders - Kapadokya was largely Christian and the city of Güzelyurt largely Greek.  The Greeks are all long gone, but the ruins of churches, monasteries, and even just living quarters remain.  After our lunch, we took a hike down the hill.

Here you can clearly see how the rock was carved:

One cannot be sure why this arch was built overlooking the mountain, but it could have made a wonderful backdrop to an altar:

These all appeared largely unoccupied:

Another moment of "Imagine growing up with this in your backyard":

Walking by these, I wondered their stories: Who carved them?  Who lived there?  Why did they leave?

From the ruins, it is clear that the city once had a much larger population:

Now, only the plants and occasional animal or bird frequents these haunts.

Hammerfall 2.0: Epilogue

 On 02 January of this year, doing my now semi-regular check of the status of the company that created the layoff called Hammerfall 2.0 (which indirectly lead to New Home 2.0), I came across the following notice:

"Thank you for visiting the website for <Former Employer> ("Company"), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company formerly based in New Home.  The Company is no longer operating.  Any questions may be submitted to <FormerEmployer@Fomer.com>.

Previous SEC filings for the company may be found at <The place you find such things>.

Correspondence can also be sent to <Former Employer>, Small Office Complex, Somewhere, United States."

That is it.   A company history of something like 15 years - 6.5 years of my own life - hundreds of millions of dollars - all gone except for a web page and assets to be liquidated.

The hours we spent there.  The amount of work.  The sacrifices of sleep and emotion.  The things that had to be done - right then - because they were the most important thing in the world, because our bosses told us so.

All gone.

I try and tell the young ones of this, that a company will ask everything of you and will let you go at the drop of a hat, that while doing good work is important and you should always avail yourself of every opportunity you can, never give the company everything.  Because sometime - it happens to most of us anymore - all of your efforts and emotions and sweat will disappear without a trace.

Sic transit gloria mundi - Thus passes the glory of this world.