Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Foreign what's Worthwhile Healing Mind, Body and Spirit I'm Ramsey Zimmerman. I choose peace of mind, vitality of body, and joy of spirit over stress, exhaustion, or overwhelm. Together, let's explore and pursue the many ways to build holistic health and wellness.
[00:00:31] Hey there, it's Ramsey here. Oh man, my legs are sore and my toes hurt, but actually I'm feeling great. I ran the Capital City Half Marathon in Olympia, Washington yesterday. It was a great day. A lot of fun. Tons of people. About 1800 people ran either the five mile, the half, or the full marathon, plus all the people who came out to cheer. The race was a lot like what I hoped for and expected. What I was surprised about was how I had an existential inquiry and epiphany later that afternoon. It was a brisk but sunny morning, perfect for a run, really, and the 37% chance of rain did not materialize. At the start line, I found a couple friends that I didn't know were running. We made it out of the pack and set a solid and respectable pace. I pulled ahead a bit and chugged up the hills. In the second half of the race, we started being greeted by onlookers, some from their windows, some from the driveways, many standing on corners. There was about a mile of memorial, placards of soldiers who had given their lives, and a bunch of people holding American flags. Many of the folks along the course had cowbells. In fact, one woman actually held a sign that said more cowbell. Oh, the signs. So many hand lettered signs, poster boards with people's names, at least one giant head cutout sign. Some really clever ones, like blisters are beautiful. You're running better than our government. You're running faster than inflation is rising. There was one oddly specific quip. Run like you're chasing an eloping child.
[00:01:55] What?
[00:01:56] I'm guessing there's a backstory to that one. There was a marvelous nerdy pun, which was my favorite. You look great, sweaty. It required a double take to figure that spelling out. As I went by, I said to the dad holding the sign, you too, sweaty. And I got an extra laugh and cheer from him. I loved it. All of it. I ate it up. I accepted every clap, every cheer, every way to go, guys, as if it were directed specifically to me. Why not? I mean, yeah, okay, I'm one of 2000 or whatever runners. But in those three seconds as I run by, that person is looking at me. My thumbs up and smile is just as much validation to them as their cheers are to Me. I got high fives from a couple of people I know and from a couple of adorable little girls standing with their parents. I rocked out with some day drunk people standing in their yard cranking M&Ms. One chance on their car stereo. I ran through several fields of bubbles. The most emotional moment was when I declined the little cup of beer that a very, very earnest homeowner had just tapped off a keg. Truly, this was a community event. I did a pretty good job managing my energy. My friend that I started with passed me, I passed him, he passed me, and then he pulled ahead for good. I was happy with my performance for two reasons. One, I pushed steadily up all the hills without stopping, and two, I had enough gas in the tank to sprint the last hundred plus yards to the finish line. That time the people on the sidelines really were cheering for me, but because they said my name and everything after the race, I was toast. I didn't collapse or faint or anything, but I'm really glad my wife drove me home. Thanks Sweaty. The rest of the day was spent alternating between sitting on the couch watching TV and getting up to get more food. I watched this weird documentary on Prime Video called A Glitch in the Matrix about simulation theory. That's the idea that reality isn't really real and we're all actually in some kind of a computer simulation created by some advanced race of beings. One of the guys being interviewed mention that throughout time people have described the brain through an analogy to one of their most advanced technologies like as a water pump or as a telegraph or as a computer. Now it's a simulation or a massive multiplayer game like we're all on some advanced kids Minecraft server. Some people even suspect or believe that it is just them, or maybe just them and a handful of other people that are real and that the rest of the people in the crowd are non player characters or NPCs. For me, I haven't been big into video games since the joystick was replaced by the keypad, but I was a huge fan of the Matrix when it came out. In the Matrix, Neo and all of enslaved humanity were people in pods hooked up to a network using them as batteries. Sorry for the spoilers and there were some NPC programs in the mix. So I'm watching this show, body and blood sugar beginning to recover from 13 plus miles and 2000 plus people and I'm contemplating the nature of my reality. Am I in a simulation? Am I a brain in a box wired into a a system? Am I a being in A pod hooked up to an interface. Are the rest of my toenails going to fall off? Or just the ones that did last week after my last big training run? Hmm. Yes. I'm grappling with these big existential questions as I eat my fifth easy peel orange. Here's what I think. Yeah, we are brains in boxes hooked up to wires. The boxes are our skulls. Our neurons are wires hooked up to the eyes and ears and spinal cords. The people around us, are they NPCs?
[00:05:30] No.
[00:05:31] That's the big lie here, the big deception. That is the isolation talking. Every cowbell ringer, every sign holder, every fellow runner yesterday was a real person. I believe it because I looked in their eyes, I slapped their hands, I accepted their cups of water and electrolytes. Just not beer. I'm sorry, lady. I really did appreciate the gesture. I can even flip the script and ask the question, was I an NPC in their simulation? After all, I was just another runner in the crowd. Bib number 1627. But here's a fact. If that dad with the sweaty sign ever listened to my podcast, he'd remember me and go, yeah, that guy totally got the joke and gave it back to me. Interactions, personal interactions, even tiny ones like eye contact and nods and certainly conversations. These validate our individual existences and humanity. That race yesterday, that community event, it validated all of our shared reality. Okay, so am I a being in a pod, hooked up to this existence through a user interface? In many ways, I think this is probably the most interesting question, because I really think the answer is yes. I believe these physical bodies, even these brains, are something that we inhabit. I believe our spirit or our soul or our consciousness, whatever word you want to use, is inhabiting our bodies while we are alive. What happens when we die? When we disconnect all of those wires? Or when they fail? When we get flushed out of our pod like Neo? What does the world look like? What do we look like? I don't know. Frankly, I'm in no hurry to find out. I'm focused on living in this reality with all of you and all of my momentary friends at the race yesterday. We're here. We're together. We can interact. We're all real and genuine, all unique. We each have our own cowbells, cups, and blisters. And we can share them. And for today, that is enough.
[00:07:20] Where to go from here? Visit whatsworthwhile.net to learn more about me, Ramsay Zimmerman, and please reach out to me and let me know what you think. I don't want this podcast to be some message in a bottle thrown out to sea. I want to hear back from you. Please send me a message or an email or hit me up on X, LinkedIn or Instagram. And please leave a rating and review for the what's Worthwhile podcast on Apple, Spotify, iHeart or Amazon. Thanks.
