The Unblocked Carver

Issue #4.5: Anguish and The Way of Poetry

Earthlings,

Until now, this newsletter was called Taoist Threads.

Partly because of my interest in Taoist philosophy, and partly because of my interest in deep ecology, and fungal mycelium.

"Fungi are the interface organisms between life and death." — Paul Stamets

That's no longer the name of this publication, but you can trust that I will weave that thread back in later on.

I never promised that this newsletter wouldn't get weird.

Now you're reading The Unblocked Carver.

This is a play on the Zen idea of "Pu" which is usually translated as "the uncarved block."

The Unblocked Carver is also a direct description of what this newsletter is really about: unblocking the flow of creativity, and cultivating the generative drive, the force that energizes your abilities to meaningfully transform reality for yourself and others.

A Personal Update

I'm writing issue #5 of the newsletter, but life's been rather heavy lately. I'm struggling to make progress; waiting out a storm.

For three months I was adventuring in the Mojave and Sonoron Deserts. I returned home three weeks ago and got sick for two weeks. It's been rainy and cold here in Canada. Then, finally catching up with friends, I've discovered that many are going through excruciatingly hard times right now.

Appropriately enough, the letter I'm writing is mostly on the topic of suffering. Dukkha, as it is known in Buddhism, or as you know if you read issue #1 of my newsletter.

The Story of Charles Joseph

Issue #5 will tell the story of how I became a wood carver, which involves the story of how I became friends with Charles Joseph, the indigenous wood carver who built the third floor of Jordan Peterson's house and filled it with masks and totem poles.

Charles had an extremely traumatic childhood, and a difficult life in general. He's now in his 60s. In recent years: his wife of 40 years passed away. Six months later his house and carving shop burned down. He and his three young kids moved back to Vancouver Island where he'd spent much of his life. I spoke with Charles briefly on the phone two weeks ago, and he shared the terrible news that two of his kids have passed away. I believe two of his adult kids. He wasn't able to talk for long, but I will call him again soon.

A Note to Readers

As loyal readers of this not-so-regular letter, I appreciate your patience with my artistic irregularity. I'm excited to become more consistent with this publication.

For now, instead of keeping everyone waiting, I realized that I have a piece of writing on this very topic to share in the meantime. In hindsight, I realize that writing this piece impacted me profoundly, and so maybe others will find insight in reading it.

Going through stacks of old writings, I found the original copy that author Trevor Carolan made notes on when I handed it in for an assignment back in 2019. I've mentioned him in previous letters, but he'll appear in more detail in issue #5 (coming this week, I promise!). You can also read THIS interview that I did with him in 2018. He's published over 20 books, travelled in over 50 countries, and has spent his whole life studying the philosophies of the East.

Dr. Carolan gave this paper an A+ and said it approaches brilliance, so I thought I'd give you the behind-the-scenes view of this student / mentor interaction.

The assignment involved reading and responding to a book called Hojoki: Visions of a Torn World, written by a 13th century Japanese recluse. Here's what I wrote:

I hope you enjoyed that.

The Unblocked Carver, Block #5, is now published: