Season 1: 04 – The Leader’s Heartache

This episode focuses on the heart to help point Jonathan to what he cares about that needs to change. He speaks of dignity, wholeness and heartache, all while experiencing a wide range of feelings coming from his heart.

00:58 Illuminate Question 3
05:07 What makes my heart ache is the suffering of children.
08:18 Dignity not always the word in the Constitutions but the digging takes us to sacred dignity.
10:10 In every newborn child, there is a dignity that doesn’t need to be earned. It’s inherent in the spirit, the soul, of the child.
13:22 The word “wholeness” is important here. We can borrow religious language into our secular life.
25:27 Our journey is one of repair. We are walking down that road to character, becoming the better version of ourselves.
31:32 The two ideas of dignity and brokenness can co-exist. I think there is a sanctity in the human soul. It lies below wholeness and sin and is inviolable.
42:40 Even just seeing it, the child suffering produces enough heartache for a lifetime. We carry it around with us.
44:44 The heart also aches because your own idea of the world, what you believe in,is being violated at the same time.
47:34 The book “1984” signals the extinction of humanity, that it could happen.
49:09 We have to understand the power of ideas to mobilize people.
54:08 What’s inspiring about the European Union is that it’s a constant, a permanent, attempt to reconcile all these competing voices. That’s what makes it heroic. Trying to reconcile competing visions of the good life.
59:06 I’ve got things to say and want to say them. What am I waiting for?
1:11:43 Digging together, you feel this is the only thing that matters because of the power of conversation.
1:19:45 Consciousness is the page.
1:27:17 Father Europe vs. Mother Europe
1:37:38 Revival or stagnation?
1:46:02 Final answer