Episode - 071 - Read Between The Lines

Stop Making Yourself Miserable

The last podcast episode called, “One Lucky Soldier” was the final installment in a five-part series from the novel I am writing called “The Better Angels – Lincoln, the Psychic and the Spy.” During the previous episodes, we followed the arduous journey of Annie Franklin, a 19-year-old psychic who came to Virginia to bring her brother Daniel, a seriously wounded Union soldier, back home to Connecticut for care.

After being abused and extorted by a Union captain who withheld the necessary furlough, and then learning that her brother had been left to die in the rotting remains of a deserted Union field hospital, Annie had finally reached her breaking point and had no idea of what to do next. In her hour of despair, she unexpectedly ran into Charles Kean, a powerful Union spy who, with a kind heart and a mighty pen, quickly saved the day for Annie and her brother.

In the book, this marks the beginning of an extraordinary adventure that brings Annie into close contact with Mary Lincoln and eventually with the President himself. As a strong romance begins to blossom between the psychic and spy, they embark on a dangerous, but thrilling adventure as they attempt to foil the Lincoln assassination. As you can imagine, the story has a lot of different layers to it and I am slated to release the novel by mid-2025.

Also, as you may recall, when I first introduced the series of podcasts, I mentioned that I had become seriously interested in writing during my college years when I changed my major from Government and Political Science to Literature. Back then, I intuitively felt that storytelling has a tremendous capacity to assist in the positive growth of human consciousness, which seemed to be absolutely essential to our survival as a species.

Over the years, as I continue to study the powerful effects of writing, I am always fascinated by the relationship between what is called “text” and “subtext.” The text refers to the actual words that have been written, while the subtext refers to the meaning behind the words. The subtext helps reveal the theme of the story; understanding it is often referred to as “reading between the lines.” And sometimes, a very small amount of text can reveal an enormous amount of meaning for us. Here are two great examples of that remarkable phenomenon.

The first one is a phrase that says, “Basic Life Needs: Backbone, Wishbone, Funnybone.” Just a few simple words, but they point to three key traits of human nature that are critical for us to successfully navigate the often-turbulent waters we face in life.

The idea that we need a strong backbone tells us that no matter what you want to do in life, you have to keep putting effort into it. And on top of that, you need to have the courage to stand up to tough times, because one way or another, they do show up.

In addition to a strong backbone, we need a robust wishbone as well, so that we can keep our sights set on our highest aspirations. Regardless of the situation we may be in, somewhere inside we have an innate sense of hope Its optimism helps bring about inspiration and creativity, along with dozens of other key components that lead us forward to fulfilling our highest human potential.

Finally, there is the idea of the funny bone, having a good sense of humor, which can be more important than it may seem. The fact is, over sixty-five different species of animals are known to laugh, and scientists now believe that laughing and having fun are critical components to survival. because it helps us see the brighter side of life.

So, it’s best to take it all with a grain of salt because one thing to remember is that we each have only a limited time here. Impermanence is a fundamental part of our existence, and having a clear understanding of that not only bring us a deeper sense of appreciation, but it also keeps us from taking ourselves too seriously, which can be a major hurdle to our inner growth.

A good sense of humor can also serve as a protective barrier for us, as well. For example, while I was doing research about Abraham Lincoln, I regularly came across the fact that he genuinely loved to laugh. And this proved to be a great help to him when he was president, as he was faced with the difficult task of managing the nation throughout the entire, unprecedentedly bloody Civil War. This was not only a truly dark time for the country, but for him personally, as well. His eleven-year-old son had died early in his first term, and he had to confront an appalling amount of death and destruction on a daily basis. As he put it, “If there is a place worse than hell, I am in it.”

But it’s a well-known fact that he kept joke books in his desk at the White House and read them often. When a reporter asked him why he would try to find humor during such a dark time, Lincoln, a deeply sensitive man who never drank or smoked said, “I laugh because I must not cry. That is all. That is all. With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh, I should die.”

So having a strong backbone, wishbone and funnybone are all critical for our success and well-being. Very simple, but very deep stuff.

Here is the second example of an extremely simple text that carries enormous meaning in it. In fact, this has been called the most profound story ever told in six words. It was an ad in a newspaper that read, “Baby Shoes for Sale. Never Worn.”

Now if you’ve been interested in these podcasts, it’s a good bet that you’ll immediately feel the depth of meaning behind these words. Afterall, why would someone have a pair of baby shoes that had never been worn? Obviously, it could be for a number of different reasons, but there are certainly some pretty sad ones to consider. Death, loss, dashed hopes and the fragile nature of our existence are just a few of the sorrowful themes that come to mind. And each would produce an immediate and profound sense of empathy in us.

On a somewhat lighter note, I once came across a slightly different version of this ad that had a very different resolution to it. Supposedly the ad read, “Baby Carriage for Sale. Never Used.” Someone called to inquire about it and first offered sincere condolences. “Thanks so much, but no condolences needed,” was the reply. “It turned out that we had twins.” I really enjoyed that when I read it. I don’t know about you, but I always love unexpected silver linings.

And here is one last quick story that had an enormous depth of subtextual meaning for me. I first heard it when I was on an extended visit to India in the early 70s and it’s actually at the foundation of one of the world’s most influential religions.

It took place in the sixth century BC, in a kingdom in the foothills of the Himalayas, when a son was born to the wealthy and powerful king of the realm. A seer told the king that the new prince would either expand the kingdom and become a great king, or he would turn into a renunciate and become a great teacher of inner truth.

Deeply disturbed by the prophecy, the king decided to keep his son in a world filled with pure delight. Throughout his entire life he was shielded from any form of suffering and pain, and was never allowed to go outside of the palace walls. The prince’s name was Siddhartha and finally, at the age of 29, he had his charioteer take him out for a chariot ride, past the palace walls and into the outside world.

They soon came upon an old man. The prince had never seen anyone old before and asked his driver what type of creature this was. He looked like a person, but was bent over and shriveled up. The diver said that that this was a regular person, just like him, who had gotten old. And he added that we all will get old like this if we live long enough. This idea of old age was new and was deeply troubling to the prince.

Then they came upon someone who was very ill. When he asked what was happening to that person, his driver said the person had become sick. Then he added that sickness can strike any of us at any time. This concept of sickness was a second deeply troubling idea to the prince.

Then they rode past the crematorium grounds as a dead body was being prepared to be placed on a funeral pyre. When he asked what had happened to that person, he was told that the person had died. He was looking at a body that no longer had the power of life in it. Then he was told that we’re all going to die someday, no matter who we are or what we do. The prince had never heard of death before, let alone the idea that we’re all going to die, and this presented a serious problem for him.

So, within a matter of an hour of leaving his palace of earthly delights, Siddhartha had been shown the realities of old age, sickness and death. Then, as they made their way back to the palace, they came upon a traveling saint, who was giving a talk to a few people of the town. With a smile on his face, he told the people that there is way of understanding that can take you from the suffering of the outer life to an immortal inner kingdom that lasts forever.

When Siddhartha asked his driver what kind of person this was, the driver explained that he was an aesthetic, someone who had dedicated himself to finding inner enlightenment. And he sounded like he had found it.

According to legend, this tremendously transformative journey for the prince became known as the four sights. Soon after his return, Siddhartha left the palace in search for inner truth. Then, at the age of 35, after six years of searching and practicing, he attained the state of inner enlightenment, began teaching and became known to the world as the Buddha.

The subtext of this story is as incredibly profound as it is simple. It conveys the idea that no matter who we are or what we are doing, we are all subject to the conditions of sickness, old age and death. And also, it is possible to attain the higher state of consciousness that transcends darkness, illusion and mortality. Of course, there are a lot of interpretations of this legendary tale, but these are the basics to it, plain and simple.

So, back to the ideas of text and subtext. As you may know, I have written a memoir called, Wilt, Ike and Me, about the days when my father founded the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team and moved NBA superstar and cultural icon, Wilt Chamberlain into our home. Wilt was my roommate during my tenth-grade year of high school.

As a memoir, the text of the story is very clear. It simply recounts the events of the time, as they happened to me. But there is a considerable amount of subtext to it as well.

In the next four podcast episodes, I am going to present four chapters from the book and I am going to go into some of their deeper subtextual meanings for me. Writers are generally somewhat hesitant to do something like this because the idea is to let the reader draw their own conclusions. But given the nature of the Stop Making Yourself Miserable podcasts, I felt inspired to do this with these chapters and I certainly hope you will enjoy them.

So that will be the end of this episode. As always, keep your eyes mind and heart opened, and let’s get together in the next one.