CHAPTER 8

Last week on the drive back from Talladega, Sage asked me if I wanted to train for a century. In cycling, a century is a hundred-kilometer race or ride sometimes associated with some kind of event, like a fund-raiser. She was talking about a fund-raiser scheduled for the beginning of October hosted by the Leukemia Foundation. We thought we could complete a century after some training rides, so Sage said she would sign us up. But we had to raise money by asking people for pledges based on the number of miles we rode.

This week Sage and I met four times, five counting our training ride today, to read and talk about As a Man Thinketh. After we find a table at La Fonda and order our paella, we talk a little about riding techniques before returning to the book.

"I'm going to read sentences from two sections," Sage says. I hear her pull the book from her jersey pocket, although I bet she has it memorized. "I want you to tell me what you think he's writing about."

"OK."

"Law, not confusion, is the dominating principle in the universe."

"I think…"

"Not yet, there's one more. 'Every man is where he is by the law of his being; the thoughts which he has built into his character have brought him there, and in the arrangement of his life there is no element of chance, but all is the result of a law which cannot err.'"

"Can't what?"

"Which cannot err. In other words, cannot be wrong."

"Uh-huh, sorry, you've told me that before."

"Paella para dos!" our waiter interrupts.

"Thanks," I say as he sets the iron skillet on our table, "and more water please."

"Watch out for the pan, it's hot," he says, and then after a few seconds asks, "you the blind kid I've heard about who rides?"

"I suppose," I say, "I don't know of another."

"Very cool. My name's Jackson. I'm a target during the week, and this is my weekend gig."

"A target? What's a target?" asks Sage.

"You know, a bicycle courier. Me and my boys ride Peachtree during the day, delivering letters and shit. People around us drive like children playing tag, and we're their targets."

"No different on the weekends," she laughs.

"I know. Pleased to meet you, uh…"

"Sage. I'm Sage, and this is Peter."

"Yo Sage, Peter. Cool. I'll be back with more water. Enjoy."

"All right," Sage says, "what's he talking about regarding law?"

"Jackson?" I ask.

"No, not Jackson. He didn't say anything about law. I'm talking about James Allen. What's James Allen referring to when he writes about law being 'the dominating principle' and 'the law of his being'?"

"You gotta learn to phrase your questions better," I smile.

"I can tell I'm going to be sorry you're learning to think," she replies, thunking the side of my head with the book.

"Well," I say between mouthfuls, "I think he is writing about two kinds of law, because he mentions law twice, but differently."

"Good start, but there's a lot more."

Sage's Journal
Atlanta, Ga.
July 30, 1988

James Allen wasn't the first to observe that the universe and everything in it is designed to run in an orderly fashion. He presented that idea as, "law is the dominating principle in the universe." This concept, as I see it, is another way of describing the Laws of Nature, the set of laws that govern everything that exists. … With each new insight, with each new understanding of the Laws of Nature, we take a step closer toward understanding our Creator and ourselves.

…the ancient philosopher Pythagoras made great progress in understanding the Laws of Nature by applying mathematics to nature. He concluded that nature, at every level from the farthest star to the nearest atom, is governed by a "universal structure" expressible through mathematical terms. I think his idea of a universal structure is consistent with the Laws of Nature.

Some two thousand years after Pythagoras, the scientist Isaac Newton proved Pythagoras's theory that laws govern nature. Newton also showed that those laws could be known and understood by humans. … For example, a kettle of boiling water contains trillions of molecules randomly colliding with one another, much like humans in a crowded city. From the apparent chaos within the boiling kettle, laws regarding temperature and pressure have been discovered. Similarly, with our observation of human interaction, both good and bad, laws regarding leadership are being discovered.

…evidence of a universal structure has lead many great thinkers to conclude an Intelligence is responsible for creating our world. One of these thinkers, Thomas Aquinas, reasoned that this universal structure and this Intelligence could best be explained in terms of subsets of the Law of Nature: natural laws and supernatural laws. Laws governing the natural aspects of nature, Aquinas concluded, could be discovered and understood by humans through human reasoning. Because natural aspects of the Laws of Nature can be understood through human reasoning, these laws are discernible. Laws governing the supernatural aspects of nature can only be understood through revelation provided by the Intelligence responsible for creating nature. Because supernatural aspects of the Laws of Nature can be understood only through revelation, these laws are imperceptible until made known to us.

"That," she says, "leads me to an announcement."

"What's that?"

"I've a couple more friends I want you to meet."

"Uh-huh, I know," I say, surprised at my own excitement.

"How do you know?"

"Because you talked about it, remember? You and Mr. L'bleak."

"Oh yea," she pauses, "that's right. Well, next is Professor Ayo DeLuz. He teaches philosophy at Georgia State University, and he's going to introduce you to reasoning and logical thinking. Besides gaining a great deal of wisdom, after talking with him you'll be on your way to figuring out natural laws yourself, if you wish."

"And then?" I ask.

"After that's Rabbi Gabriel Maxx. He's going to introduce you to a couple of topics, including, supernatural laws."

I think about it for a minute but can't figure it out, so I ask, "What's talking with Professor DeLuz and Rabbi Maxx have to do with law as a dominating principle?"

"After talking with them and thinking awhile, I think you'll conclude that there's an inherent structure to the world, as well as to your own life. That realization will guide you as you look for answers to important questions that'll pop up in the future."

"Such as?"

"Such as 'Who am I?' 'What should I do with my life?' 'When will life make sense?' and about a bazillion more."

"That's a lot of questions."

"That which does not kill you makes you stronger," she drily replies. "I'll be back." Sage leaves to go to the bathroom.

When she returns, she says, "At least some of what I do with you is useful in more than one way. Remember that exercise we're doing, how to figure out your core interests?"

"Uh-huh," I say.

"While the immediate purpose of that is to help you plan for aging out of foster care, the long-term purpose is to help you determine who and what you are, so you can develop some confidence in yourself. People aren't paper dolls. At least we aren't supposed to be. We have brains and free will, so we have the potential to be very different from each other.

"If you don't figure out who and what you are," she adds, "you won't know how to use your free will in harmony with the Laws of Nature --"

"What you're saying," I interrupt, "is if I don't know what I am, I won't know how to properly use my free will. And if I don't properly use my free will, I am probably going to operate outside the law of my being, right? And," I add, "if I do that, I probably won't experience my true success. Right?"

"Very, very good, Peter," she says slowly. "You're beginning to get it. And I didn't have to explain that 'law of your being' concept to you. You said it perfectly."

"Cool, little man," comes a voice from behind Sage. "You come up with that yourself?"

"Uh-uh, Jackson," I say, recognizing his voice and nodding toward Sage. "She's showing me the way."

"Then I'll have to invite myself over for lunch next time," he says, gathering our empty plates, "grab some of what she's passing out. More water?"

"No, thanks," responds Sage, "we're on our way out."

"You guys cruisin' or training?"

"Training, but with a break," I reply. "We're riding our first century in October."

"Excellent. I'll write my phone number on your check. Call if you want some company."

"We will," she says. "Thanks."

"Good luck," he calls, moving over to another table.

I lean over to Sage and whisper, "He likes you, I can tell."

"Shut up. And you better stop snickering, or else. Blind or not," she jokes, "I'll punch you into next week."

"OK, OK," I continue snickering, "but tell me this. Suppose somebody goes through that exercise and concludes they really want to be a thief? Should they be a thief, since they believe that will make them happy, even if that operates against the Laws of Nature?"

"Good, you really are giving all this some serious thought. I think that if someone believes a life of crime will make them happy, then they need to change the way they think. They need to go back and read more of James Allen." She stops to finish her water before continuing. "Someone working against the Laws of Nature is someone who will fail. Hitler is a good example of that. But that's different from someone working against an unjust human law. If someone can foresee they're likely to land in prison because they chose a life of nonviolent social change, they shouldn't let the fear of prison stop them from the greater task of improving the world. I think someone working to establish the Laws of Nature will prevail. Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. are good examples of that."

"So the difference," I reason, "is the motive, not the penalty?"

"That's one way of looking at it."

We talk a few more minutes about the rest of the ride before we leave. We suit up at the curb, then ride onward to the Atlanta stadium before turning around and returning to Snellville. It's almost an effortless ride back. I'm happy that I've made progress in my understanding of what Sage says-and happier in the thought that there just might be a purpose and place for me after all.

Socratic Method questions for Chapter 8

Understanding the Guide