Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. HEBREWS 10:23-25
It’s a quiet morning in my home. 7am, dogs snoring, coffee still steaming, and the wind outside is whipping up for a good April storm. I’m tired, and my body is sore, but there’s a joy stirring in my heart today as I reflect on the last 72 hours. This weekend, Geeky Stoics held its first retreat in Stokesdale, North Carolina, for its Founding members and like-minded creators. It’s an event I’ve had on my mind for a long time now, and I can hardly believe it actually came to fruition. When I sit down to write an article or outline a video script for the YouTube channel, I am getting something off my chest—yes—but the true aim of every word I put out into the public sphere is connection. When one person reaches back out to say, “me too,” the why is fulfilled. Over time, the people this work affects have become clearer—they have names, families, stories, and words of their own—and both Riley Blanton and I wanted to meet them. So we did. Geeky Stoics has been radically blessed by small success in what we’re doing, and it felt important to pass it on in some way. A few days of food, drink, shooting and hiking was a good way to do that. We convened at the Magnalia Homestead, the property of Jim and Rachel Van Eerden featuring a C.S. Lewis-inspired cottage, a Henry David Thoreau “Walden” cabin and soon….a Bag End Hobbit-hole. If you have a special event to host, I can’t recommend Magnalia enough.
I’m not going to get over my skiis and say everyone who came out to this event is someone starved for connection and camaraderie, I can only speak for myself in that regard. What I can say is that we’re surrounded by men (and women) quietly trying to make it through life as contentedly as possible in relative solitude. Even those with lively families and homes full of love, there remains a necessity for community and friendship beyond the household. Subjects linger in the mind that won’t get a good hearing with anyone but a random group of guys who’ve read the same books and obsessed over the same movies.
Philosophy promises above all: common sense, humanity, and community. SENECA, MORAL LETTERS
This group had a lot to talk about. I suspect many of the best conversations and meaningful moments were the huddles I missed, when two or three men would break off and have chats of their own for hours at a time. As it should be. We are made for one another and called to spur each other toward good deeds. If you know things through experience, reading or the development of philosophy, you should be sharing it and help others along in the practice of those worthwhile things.
One thing I took home with me came from Ben Domenech, a walking wealth of great quotes and memorable prose, who at dinner recalled a a favorite of his: “What happens to a man when every door is open to him? Nothing at all.” All men have something worth sharing. Jonathan listens closely and has thoughtful questions to ask anyone in his company; Aaron Welty has the spirit of a champion; Truman Angell will look you in the eye and remind you that surrender, while attractive, isn’t an option; Sam R | Making Stories Matter speaks with clarity of heart and mind, never muddying the waters of what he holds good and true. Austin is a guide, not to mention a deadly marksman who sets the standard for competence in the skills necessary to defend the innocent.
I pray, and believe in waiting, that the best is yet to come for Geeky Stoics and this collection of fellow travelers.
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember’d;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne’er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.
From Henry V, Shakespeare
