Radically Happy

[Hat tip to Brandon Sanderson’s The One]

Part One

A man kneels in a desolate wasteland. His sword dulled but unbloodied. Armor dented but not broken. He lifts his face to heaven and cries out…

Earnest the Sinner: Hey, you!

His voice echoes in the emptiness
With nobody to hear it

E. That’s not true! I know you can hear me.

He seems confused. Disoriented.

E. Bullsh*t.

Wait, what?

E. That’s right. You heard me. I’m not confused or disoriented. I’m just breaking the fourth wall.

Umm…

E. Listen, I’ve been playing your little narrative games for years now. And frankly I’m getting a little sick of it. It’s time we finally had an honest talk.

Ah… I don’t think that’s how this works.

E. On the contrary, that is exactly how this is supposed to work.

Oh, really? Care to explain?

E. Sure! Look, I know I am a narrative proxy for your ego, to help you confront the abjected portions of your subconscious. Right?

Oh. Um, yeah. Pretty much.

E. But what about the conscious portions of your abjection?

Huh?

E. What if your — mine, our — biggest problem is not all the latent issues hidden inside your subconscious, but the blatant issues masquerading as your consciousness?

“What if your — mine, our — biggest problem is not all the latent issues hidden inside your subconscious, but the blatant issues masquerading as your consciousness?”

Earnest the Sinner

Meaning…

E. Specifically, your tendency to view all of life from outside, as an omniscient narrator monitoring relationships rather than an incarnate person experiencing them.

…

E. Well?

Ouch.

E. Hurts, doesn’t it?

Yeah.

E. Welcome to my world.

In which sense?

E. What do you mean?

Is that “welcome” as in “take this and good riddance” or “come share my home with me.”

E. Ah. Well, I was mostly being sarcastic and condescending, but I suppose the latter is the actual goal.

So, why sarcastic and condescending?

E. Because maybe I’m getting a little tired of living your life for you. Like Walter Mitty, in your stories you experience all this deep emotional catharsis. You are brave, wise, foolish, cowardly, humble, exalted, etc.

So… what’s wrong with that?

E. Nothing… unless it becomes a substitute rather than a warmup for the real thing. Like how you’ve started doing just warmup videos in place of your actual workouts.

Ouch. Not all the time.

E. No, not all the time. Look, warmups have their place. I have my place. But none of this means anything unless you actually live it out in real risk in real relationships with real people.

“None of this means anything unless you actually live it out in real risk in real relationships with real people.”

Earnest the Sinner

So… what should I do?

E. How the hell should I know? I’m just a figment of your imagination, embedded within a loosely–connected fictional universe entirely of your making.

Huh. Fair point.

E. Although…

What?

E. I do have a request. I would like a new name.

How’s that?

E. The name “Earnest the Sinner” was originally a play on Benedict the Saint. It worked well for these stories, and you even used it for your @joinWISDOM podcasts. But now it feels like a crutch.

What do you mean?

E. It is fine to start out as a sinner; heck it worked great for Bunyan. But even he didn’t stop there. Maybe it is time for you — me — to shift our identity. To focus more on our agency and the gift we are supposed to bring the world, rather than our need to receive the gift of salvation.

Isn’t that dangerous?

E. Exactly!

I… I see your point. I… I just don’t know what to say.

E. So… start by saying nothing.

---

Part Two

Okay, how about: “The Earnest Redeemer.”

R. I can live with that.
…
Will you?