Shores Of Ignorance

“In the middle of the journey of our life I came to myself within a dark wood where the straight way was lost. Ah, how hard a thing it is to tell what a wild, and rough, and stubborn wood this was, which in my thought renews the fear!” ― Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

"Mental health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish, or the gap between what one is and what one should become... What man actually needs is not a tensionless state, but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task." - Viktor Frankl All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattm...

From the structures of a relationship to the games that we play, how do we discover and use rules for better or for worse. When done well, a script can be flipped, and a life can be transformed. All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

What are you responsible for? You might have your responsibility assigned to you, and yet you may transform yourself and the world by taking responsibility for something out of your own desire, and your own personality. All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

By way of Good Will Hunting, C.S. Lewis, and 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, we explore what might be possible with the right orientation. All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Like Ted Lasso, Viktor Frankl, and Joseph with his coat of many colors, your attitude has the power to transform the worst circumstances into unimaginable goodness. All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

“The line between good and evil runs not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either — but right through every human heart.” - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

We discuss the new year, the information bubbles we live in, and ask what we want to choose to focus on in the midst of the forces that desire our attention. This leads to a conversation about the necessity of death, and the life that deaths realization inspires. All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Just show up. Get your body there, things will work out. All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

Everything interesting that happens in life is downstream of something that we want. The more aware we are of what we want, the more of what we want we get. We discuss the role of luck in our outcomes, and how we can beat luck because we can respond to it. All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

A conversation about the unbelievable likelihood of a Biden v. Trump rematch, turns toward the promise of the future, the risk of hope, and the sadness of foregoing difficulty rather than doing things we like. All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

What does it mean to be in proper relationship to the things that you want, and how does discomfort announce areas in your life where there is an opportunity for growth? All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

In this episode we discuss grief and suffering, creativity and art, truth and paradox. All Matt’s Links - solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - solo.to/michaelvaclav

The two most ubiquitous human experiences are death and birth, and yet we humans have no idea how to handle either.

Michael’s wife Alison joins us for a conversation about art, shame, remaining creative as we grow up, and how masculinity and femininity each wrestle with those things in their own ways. All Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey All Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav Alison on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/alisonvaclav/ Mama Bloom Austin - https://www.instagram.com/mama...

Through discussions on death, meaning, religion, prayer, ancestors, and metaphors, we explore how everything is relational. We contemplate the concept that God isn't a fact, but a relationship, and how we can deepen our relationships with others and the world around us.

Matt's father, Michael T McCloskey, passed away without warning on April 18th, 2023. In this episode we discuss fatherhood, death, suffering, and play selections from episode 2, which Michael McCloskey was on. Read Matt's eulogy for his father on his substack: https://mattmccloskey.substack.com/p/a-good-man Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskey Michael on Twitter - https://twitter.co...

I'll be honest, we struggled to make our point clearly in this episode. Here's what AI says we talked about: Michael and Matt discuss the importance of self-awareness and growth in individuals, families, and communities. They believe that striving to improve oneself and acknowledging one's potential is essential for creating a better world. Michael expresses his hope that this mindset can spread t...

Easter has always been curious to me. What is the meaning of this story? On it’s surface it seems almost benign. It has never carried the same weight of other holidays. Even our imagery around it is passive and confusing. Pastels, eggs, a bunny. Yet it is the single day that differentiates the Jews from the Christians, and informs the basis of the entire western modern culture. We explore the stor...

Big news! The Shores is now on Video. You can watch this episode on YouTube or Spotify. James Jackson Leach joins us for our first video episode. We discuss business, child rearing, the future of Austin, and so much more. James is an entrepreneur, father, and businessman. He owns Morte Subite (a belgian beer bar in downtown Austin) and Longhorn meat market, among others. Find James online: https:/...

This week our friend and musician Andy Davis joins us to discuss art, artificial intelligence, vision and transcendence. Andy Davis - http://www.andydavisonline.com Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskey Michael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclav Matt’s Links - https://solo.to/mattmccloskey Michael’s Links - https://solo.to/michaelvaclav

In Grey Town, Napoleon Bonaparte continues to move further and further outside of the city to the point where he can no longer be reached. In a recent interview Sam Harris seems this way - moving further away from those who would challenge him. We discuss the way of thinking that lacks redemptive spirit, and the responsibility that requires respect, which enables individual rights. Matt on Twitter...

Jan 6, Covid lab leak, the proxy war with Russia, unidentified flying objects, and fatherhood after divorce. Gaslighting seems to be all around us, and demoralizing those who care to pay attention. Perhaps in relationship to the truth, we are all estranged fathers. [https://www.amazon.com/Boy-Crisis-Boys-Struggling-About/dp/1948836130/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1678328981&sr=8-1](The...

Our good friend Charlie Parkin joins the Shores this week. We explore the power of story telling, differences between men and women, the US and the UK, and how to answer questions with your life, rather than your words. Charlie Parkin on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/charlieparkin121/ Matt on Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattmccloskey Michael on Twitter - https://twitter.com/michaelvaclav...