philosophy – A. Allen Rowe, Ph.D.

Jockonian Dichotomy, Babinian Dialectic

The Jocko Podcasts make me more and more aware of the power of dichotomies in taking Extreme Ownership of one’s life. Dichotomy awareness makes one humble. Dichotomy awareness pushes one toward mindfulness in every situation. The dichotomy is central to much of what Jocko Willink and Leif Babin present. It is an essential concept because dichotomies beg a dialectic thought process: thesis vs. antithesis. At least this is what I am finding in my life. I have long been a believer in the necessity of the dialectic for moving closer to truth and effectiveness. The dichotomies Jocko and Leif put forward trigger in me dialectic analysis, helping to keep me humbly mindful and thoughtfully present.

So is it not time to enrich the English language with two new concepts: The Jockonian Dichotomy and the Babinian Dialectic? But where to introduce them? Introductory philosophy or graduate seminars? How about both and more! Let’s own even the academic and philosophical high ground.

And to accomplished philosophers, I apologize if my grasp of the dialectic seems rudimentary. It may well be. So I welcome insight from those more knowledgeable than I, which is truly a vast throng. Own it and bring me in line. Bring it on! Meanwhile, just in case you need further resources, here are some links.

Hardcover

Takeaways

Audio

Kindle

Eve of Everything

The Eve of Everything Now

On this last day we unfurl wings
of mind, memory, imagination:
eagle-hummingbird-butterfly-bees,
mythical concatenation creatures
of all that soars, darts, flutters,
visits flowers and great heights.

We soar the winds not taken,
transformed forever,
in an instant,
forever changed,
and changing everything,
forever.

Frostian ages hence,
we will know,
though earth forget,
we were the difference.
Going ungentle,
we changed it all.

You and I,
and you and she,
and he and I,
us, more and more of us,
in fractal waves
rising, pulsing, welling up
through space and time.

We were and are
creation’s divine dance
beyond our span of life
until creation is not
and time is not
and forever is not
out there,
but right here,
right now,
forever.

And we were!
She and he,
you and I,
myriad links expanding
in spheres of every light.

And we are,
you and I, present
in the last grain
of the ultimate day,
in the last null span
of the eternal point
between was and will be.

We were
and are!
Every action,
every inaction,
every decision,
every indecision,
changing everything
forever.
Thus we were
and always are
the eve of everything.

This is v2.0, the 2016 edition, of the original poem and contains numerous changes.
For Steve M, Anton, Brenden, Bart and all those who make a difference. Thank you.

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The Eve of Everything Now

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