#100 - Two Questions for Life {Reflections}

Have you ever stopped to ask yourself who you truly are and what you're really doing here? In our milestone 100th episode of Reflections, we dive deep into these two deceptively simple questions that have the power to transform your entire life.

The episode opens with a powerful story about a rabbi who, while lost in thought one evening, encounters a Roman guard who challenges him with these very questions. Rather than being offended, the rabbi is so moved by their profundity that he offers to pay the guard to ask him these questions every morning. This ancient wisdom sets the stage for examining how modern Western culture sweeps us along a predetermined path that many follow without question.

We explore the familiar trajectory most of us have been sold: study hard, get good grades, attend college, secure a well-paying job, make money, and finally achieve happiness. But does this formula actually deliver? Are we, collectively, happy after dutifully following these steps? Breaking free from cultural currents requires courage and self-reflection, but the alternative – living someone else's life instead of your own – carries a far greater cost.

Self-discovery isn't instantaneous but unfolds over time. For many, the decade of our twenties becomes a laboratory of trying on different identities until we find what truly resonates. To aid this journey, I share a practical evening reflection exercise that, when practiced consistently, reveals patterns about what consistently brings you life versus what drains you – providing invaluable clues about your authentic self and purpose.

As we celebrate 100 episodes together, I invite you to join our community in person at Central in Elk River or online. Share this episode with someone who might be questioning their path, and let's continue this journey of authentic living together. Who are you, and what are you doing here? The answers might just change everything.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:15):
what is up everybody?
Hey, this is ryan and welcometo episode 100.
I'm in the house with olivia.
We're in the's Beats Laboratory, mike is in here, but Olivia
and I are here and this isepisode 100.
Let's celebrate.
So I don't know if you'relistening to this today.
When you jumped onto the well,hopefully you're on the

(00:37):
bandwagon.
When you jumped onto the,awaken no Reflections, good
grief.
Awaken no Reflections, goodgrief.
I do a weekly email to thecongregation called Awaken, but
this is Reflections.
I don't know when you jumped onthe bandwagon, but we're glad
you're here, welcome, and thisis episode 100.
So, whatever you do tocelebrate, celebrate today, give
yourself a high five, do adance, a jig, have a drink,

(00:57):
whatever you got to do, do it.
And I wanted to share this story.
This is one of my favoritestories.
I've taught at several placesaround, you know, I guess,
minnesota and Denver and the USand I've taught a couple of
classes in theology atuniversities.
I teach at a seminary and Ioften will open with this story,
and here it is.
There is a story about thisrabbi who's walking home one

(01:20):
night and on his way home he'sdeep in thought and he gets lost
and he takes a left when heshould have gone right, doesn't
realize that he's gone the wrongdirection because he's so deep
in thought.
And this rabbi suddenly comesacross, this, comes upon this
Roman garrison, this Romanfortress, and he hears somebody
call down from the top of thisRoman fortress and say hey, who

(01:41):
are you and what are you doinghere?
And the rabbi looks up and hegoes what'd you say to me?
And the guard up on top of thegarrison says I said who are you
and what are you doing here?
And the rabbi says let me askyou a question how much are they
paying you to be up on top ofthat garrison and to yell down
those two questions who are youand what are you doing here?

(02:03):
And the guard is sort of caughtoff.
He's like two denarius a weekor whatever.
And the rabbi's like hey, I'llpay you double that to come over
to my house every morning andask me those two questions who
are you and what are you doinghere?
So I want to ask you, listener,who are you and what are you

(02:25):
doing here?
So I want to ask you, listener,who are you and what are you
doing here?
You know the culture that welive in, especially the modern
Western culture that I'm mostfamiliar with, will generally
work to push you in a certaindirection.
You probably feel it If you'remaybe super young, maybe not yet
, but the older you get you'vegot to recognize that there is
this stream that's moving amillion miles an hour that

(02:48):
pushes us to go in a certaindirection, to value certain
things, to be and behave incertain ways that we just adopt
without even asking why orwhat's going on.
It's sort of like the matrix.
You know what I mean.
I remember when I was younger.
I just remember thinking, youknow, I get up and go to school
every day.
And why, well, to get up and goto school every day?
And why, well, to get goodgrades.
Why am I doing that?

(03:08):
Well, I'm like, okay, to getinto a good college.
Why, well, to get a good jobeventually one day.
Why would I care about that?
Well, to make money.
Why.
Why do I need to make money?
Well, so you can be happy.
And then it's like, yeah, thatwas kind of the end of it.
I'm like, okay, so every day Iget up to go to school, do my
homework, so I can get goodgrades, so I can go to a good

(03:30):
college, so I can get a good job, so I can make more money, and
then ultimately, I guess that'llbe what makes me happy.
And now, of course, there'svalue in just doing the thing
because you take pride in it.
Almost I felt like I ingestedthis pathway, Like this is where
I'm going and I'm going thereno matter what.
But then I'm asking is thatwhat will make me happy?
And are we as a culture?
Are we happy?

(03:50):
Like, are we a bunch of happypeople?
Because we're all trying tochase this thing, we're all in
this stream that's moving athousand miles an hour, and are
we happy?
And I don't know, the longer Ilive, I know the culture will do
its best to co-opt us and ourwell-being, to fit into the
certain mold and direction, andit's easier for us to just get
in and go along.

(04:10):
It's harder to fight againstthe stream.
But who are you like?
Who are you and what are youdoing here?
And maybe it's this veryspecific pathway that it seems
like everybody's on, but maybeit's not, maybe it's something
different.
I mean, it doesn't reallymatter at the end of the day
what other people are doing.
That's not you.

(04:31):
There's this great saying thatone of the rabbis said hey, when
I go to heaven, god won't askme.
Hey, why weren't you Moses?
Instead, god will ask you whyweren't you you?
So for me, god might be like oh, god won't ask me, why weren't
you such and such good preacher,good pastor, why weren't you
that guy?
God will ask me Ryan, whyweren't you Ryan?
Yeah, why weren't you you?

(04:52):
How can I be me unless I knowwho I am?
Who are you and what are youdoing here?
Now, this takes time to figureout.
Of course, I love talking tohigh school kids when they're
graduating, because they'reright on the tipping point there
of having ingested this messageof hey, go to school, work hard
so that you can then go tocollege, so that you can get a
good job, so you can make money,so you can be happy.

(05:14):
You know what I mean.
And some of them are like rightabout to go into college, and
they realize well, maybe collegeisn't for me, or I don't want
to go to the college my parentswant me to go to, or I don't
want that job that my parentswant me to have, or that the
culture tells me I should have.
And so I say to them listen.
How could you know what youwant and who you are and what
you're doing?
You're only 18.

(05:34):
Maybe you know, but a lot ofthem don't know because they're
only 18.
And that's okay, because ittakes time to figure out who you
are and what you're doing here.
And so if you know and have asense, yeah, go to whatever your
plan is.
If you're like I'm going to gobe an electrician, okay, great.
Or I'm going to go to thiscollege and study law, great.
But don't be surprised eitherif you get in there and you're

(05:55):
like I don't think this is forme, that happens In many ways.
I think it takes a long, a gooddecade for many of us in our 20s
to figure out what I'm doing,what I'm good at, where I want
to go, what I feel like a senseof calling to and who I am and
what I'm doing here.
And you might have to in thattime, when you're younger, you
might have to kind of enter intoplaces that really aren't you
and you don't even know it yet.

(06:16):
Or you have to try on clothesthat aren't really yours, and so
you can know what you're doingand what you want and where
you're going and what you feellike you're called to do and how
you can make this world abetter place and contribute and
be a part of the mission of Godof renewing the world.
Now here's a practice I want togive you, and I'm going to get
out of your hair and wish youall a happy 100th episode, but
there's this great practice, itgoes, but it's a way of at the

(06:45):
end of every day, and if you didthis for like, I think, three
months and took notes, I thinkyou would find some very
fascinating things.
But this is one of the ways youcan find out who you are and
what you're doing here.
So here's what you can do Everynight before bed take about
five minutes and, you know, kindof enter into this time of
reflection and quiet and you cangive thanks to God for all the

(07:13):
things in your life thathappened that day.
Good, you know the big and smallgifts you received and the
moments of beauty and wonder andawe and all that kind of thing,
and then examine your day likego over your day like almost
every moment, from the time youwoke up through to breakfast to
lunch, and then who you met with.
And did you go out for a coffee, did you work out at the gym,
did you go play whatever discgolf, and then you came home and
met with your, you know.
Go over all those things andask yourself two questions, and
the first one is hey, what didyou do today that was

(07:35):
life-giving?
You could phrase it like thiswhat did you do today that, if
you had to relive this day over,you'd do that moment again?
Or you could say it like thiswhat in today's day, what are
you the most grateful for?
Like what made you come alivetoday?
Not maybe it's like oh, I got afree car, that'd be awesome.

(07:55):
But write it down whatever it is, it doesn't matter how shallow
or deep it might seem, justwrite it down.
And like I mean, like what wasthe most life where you felt
like you were able to give andreceive love, or you felt like
you were living in tune with whoyou really are and you just
felt life-giving, it felt funand incredibly connected and all
those kinds of things.
The second question is what inyour day are you the least
grateful for?

(08:16):
So just the converse questionlike, what did you do today that
you felt disconnected, or wheredid you feel like you couldn't
give or receive love.
You felt like you weren'treally yourself or you just you
weren't grateful for that moment.
It felt like there wassomething just kind of off.
You were off of center.
And write that down as well, andthen do this for three months,

(08:36):
I would say, and you don't haveto do it every single night, but
I think I'd encourage you to dothat and watch what happens.
My guess is, the things thatbring you life.
You'll start to see a trendLike, oh, these are the same
three, two, three things thatkeep bringing me life.
You know, like for me, I didthis for a long time, for about
a year, and I noticed whenever Iwould hang out with people and
when I would talk about god, I'mthis true story I'm like those

(08:59):
always brought me life.
And like here I am, I'm apastor, like there's something
about my life.
I'm sort of wired, I think,internally to like be with
people and to encourage them andto talk about deep things,
about God and faith and life andmeaning.
I love doing that.
And then, on the flip side, thethings that kind of drain life.
You can address those as well,but do it over the course of a

(09:22):
large chunk of time and see whatit is and what those things are
, and that might give you someclues about who you are and what
you're doing here.
So, friends, for our 100thanniversary of Reflections
Podcast.
It's been a good ride, olivia,it's been fun having you here
over the last month, a coupleweeks.
But I want to ask you thisquestion, at least two again who

(09:44):
are you and what are you doinghere?
All right, love you guys.
Peace.
Are you and what are you doinghere?
All right, love you guys.
Peace.
Hey, if you enjoy this show,I'd love to have you share it
with some friends.
And don't forget, you arealways welcome to join us in
person at Central in Elk Riverat 830, which is our liturgical
gathering, or at 10 o'clock, ourmodern gathering, or you can

(10:05):
check us out online atclcelkriverorg.
Peace.