The Inner Socratic Method
Bean There Done That - Off to See the Wizard
Sophia: Walt, Flannery, I’ve been pondering the journeys we undertake — both outward and inward. Walt, you wrote, “Re-examine all that you have been told… dismiss that which insults your soul.” How do we know which teachings to carry and which to set aside?
Re-examine all that you have been told... dismiss that which insults your soul.
— Walt Whitman's (1819-1892)
Whitman: Sophia, it is a matter of listening to the self. Life offers countless voices, rules, and expectations, yet the soul knows what nourishes and what constrains. To dismiss what insults the soul is not arrogance, but an act of preservation.
O’Connor: And yet, Sophia, life itself is a teacher. Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days. The trials, the mistakes, the wonder, the pain — all form an inner compass, often more reliable than external authority.
Sophia: So, between re-examining received wisdom and surviving experience, we develop discernment. One guides us outward, the other inward.
Whitman: Exactly. The world may offer enchantments, illusions, even “wizards” of false promise. Yet, if you have tended your inner garden, you recognize which paths are nourishing and which are traps.
O’Connor: And the childhood we survive, with all its contradictions, equips us with a repository of insight. Humor, grief, resilience — these are the tools that let us walk confidently, even through uncertainty.
Sophia: Perhaps this is why we say, Bean there, done that. The journey is not simply about novelty, but about testing what sustains us. To see the wizard is to confront illusion, but also to acknowledge the wisdom gained along the way.
Anybody who has survived his childhood has enough information about life to last him the rest of his days.
— Flannery O'Connor's (1925-1964)
Whitman: Yes. The wizard may amaze, but the soul must choose what it carries. Delight in the magic, but never surrender your discernment.
O’Connor: And remember that the smallest experiences — the childhood you endured, the lessons of suffering, the victories of simple survival — are more instructive than any spell or spectacle.
Sophia: Then the path forward is clear: re-examine, trust experience, and move with courage. The wizard may be waiting, but your soul, seasoned by life, knows the way.
They walk together, the road ahead winding and whimsical, each step informed by experience, discernment, and the quiet wisdom that survives even the most magical of encounters.
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