For the last two years, I have been going through a very difficult process.
I haven’t told anyone about it. It’s a battle I have been fighting that has been terrifying.
When this battle first came to my doorstep, I went for a long walk. At the time, I very much enjoyed listening to the lectures that Jordan Peterson would publish on his podcast. This particular lecture was called “wish upon a star.”
In the lecture, Jordan Peterson talks about Pinocchio. He spoke about the story of a young boy, naïve and wooden headed, and his archetypical journey. At the end of the journey, Pinocchio found himself “in the belly of the whale” on a mission to rescue his father.
What a strange story, yet it’s a story we all understand.
Why does it make sense to us that a young marionette puppet would venture to the bottom of the ocean, swim inside the belly of a whale (really it’s a fire breathing dragon) to rescue his father, and then become a real boy?
Because it does make sense to us, we all listen to that story and are immediately captivated.
But why?
The reason, as Jordan Peterson explained, is because the story represents our personal journey of “looking into the abyss.” As humans, we all instinctively know what we must do, but we rarely do it.
In Sterquiliniis Inventur
This roughly translates to “it will be found in filth.”
To become the best version of you, the version that is calling for greatness, you must look directly into the abyss and face it. You must turn and face what it is that scares you the most.
Because dragons don’t go away when you run from them. It’s quite the opposite really, they get stronger.
This lecture profoundly changed my life. It may be the most influential lesson I’ve learned in the last 5 years. I can’t tell you how often Juliana and I see moments in our lives that frighten us, and then we look at each other and simply say “the belly of the whale.” We know that the path of our enlightenment is found by continuously walking through the abyss of fear.
After listening to this lecture, I knew that I needed to face this challenge head on. It has been one of the scariest and hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. I’ve had panic attacks, sleepless nights, and moments of absolute terror.
But I slayed the dragon, just like Jordan Peterson said I must.
It’s my greatest victory to date.
The Flip Side of Jordan Peterson
In many cases, I hear Jordan Peterson’s message, and I feel like he is talking directly to me. He understands my frustration with soft men, the weak American temperament, and people’s fear of being made uncomfortable.
He has changed my life for the better.
But … every once in a while, he says things that are so appalling, it makes me cringe.
It makes me feel embarrassed for his family.
Why would any man say such things about other people? The only rationale I can gather is that he has becomes addicted to the chaos of tabloids, Twitter drama, and “high” you feel after you’ve been in a fight.
For example, Jordan Peterson had a strong opinion about Yumi Nu, who was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition.
Somehow, Jordan Peterson argues that this cover shoot, which highlights a women who he deems to be not beautiful, is an authoritarian form of group think.
It doesn’t make any sense. Jordan Peterson can’t go more than a few sentences without mentioning Marxism and his absolute hatred towards radical leftists. He has a firm stance that any form of group think should be seen as a cautionary tale against the horrors of communism
Later, he went on his daughters podcast to further cement his argument.
What’s difficult to grasp about Jordan Peterson is that there is so much of what he says that I agree with.
I agree we shouldn’t be celebrating obesity. I agree that we need to stop pretending that everyone is equal, because we’re not. All of us have natural gifts and genetic shortcomings that make us unique. But uniqueness is not equality. We are all different and I think that should be celebrated. I agree that we should celebrate individualism.
But then, as is always the case, the conundrum of Jordan Peterson reveals itself, because he wants to have it both ways and he uses his cunning and skillful ability to debate as a shield against his criticizers.
But, I think I’m starting to really see what this is all about.
Jordan Peterson Starts Crying, Again …
Recently, Jordan Peterson was interviewed by Piers Morgan.
He argues that people, especially men, are DYING for an encouraging word. He argues how easy it is to simply be encouraging. Dare I say kind.
Well what the fuck?
When I see this, I imagine how confusing it would be to be a woman. On one side, Jordan Peterson demands that people treat this swimsuit model for what she is, a non athletic pawn in the manipulation machine of mass media.
While on the other side, crying to fucking Piers Morgan, because Olivia Wilde called him a name and that highlights the brutal the mistreatment of the men in the modern world.
I mean come on … this is ridiculous.
Deep down, I think we are seeing a lifetime of doubt, depression, and insecurity come to light. When I see this, I can clearly recognize that Jordan Peterson isn’t talking about men, he’s talking about himself.
We all know it, because we all know this part about ourselves.
You know that when you say mean things about others, it’s because you’re secretly speaking to the parts of yourself that you don’t like.
Jordan Peterson is the one who is starving for encouragement and grasping for a kind word. These are the words of a wounded man, and in a way, this realization has brought clarity to my own confusion about Jordan Peterson, who he is, and how he has impacted my life.
He’s a man, looking for love and encouragement. He wants to belong to a community, just like everyone else.
Ironically, in doing so, he is becoming a parody of himself. He is playing his own heroes journey, and I am afraid that in his own mind, he is falling short.
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