Although it’s often part of our longer Sunday walk, Vlad and I rarely make purchases at the used bookstore in our neighborhood.
We already have lifetimes of reading stacked in front of us, particularly given the literary dopamine rush that comes from instant delivery to our Kindle.
Yet this was one purchase I couldn’t pass up, however.
Oddly, I believe this was one of maybe two new books in the store.
Namely, legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog’s recently released autobiography, which as several reviewers have pointed out, has a title worthy of a heavy metal album:
Every Man For Himself & God Against Us All.
More about that ahead…
As I explore Taking a Leap of Faith (February Meditation HERE) in this 2024 Leap Year month, I’m also diving deep into the overlapping theme of Reinvention for the new course I’m teaching live.
Since it’s a large audience format, we’ve upgraded to the Zoom webinar feature (versus just the regular meeting one).
There are some tech advantages to it but one curious twist is that I can’t see anyone’s faces, just a list of participants in the margin.
It’s more of a pure lecture format, where you deliver material to your own slideshow, without seeing your students’ friendly faces.
At first, it felt slightly disconnected and a little unnerving, but I realized I simply had to let go of the need for immediate feedback.
In a way, it’s actually surprisingly helpful since it forces you to focus on the material completely rather than the audience.
You have to trust in the value of what you’re teaching and that it’s landing properly, in a way that serves your students.
It’s a minor leap of faith, in other words, that your message is getting delivered.
Speaking of messages getting delivered…
Many have trust issues with Werner Herzog’s narrative.
Indeed, The New York Times review begins with “I don’t believe a word” of the book, adding “but then, I’m not sure we’re supposed to take much of it at face value.”
It’s not like Herzog hasn’t been warning us for years, however.
He has has famously sought what he calls the “ecstatic truth” in his documentaries, stating:
“I’m modifying facts in such a degree that they resemble truth more than reality.”
Honestly, you’ve got to admire the confidenceof anyone who feels when it comes to getting to the truth, they are better at it than reality itself.
Herzog’s pretty much a constant storm of such philosophical conundrums, producing in this book what the Guardian called “something weirder and truer than a mere autobiography.”
Indeed, at every moment he embodies Emily Dickinson’s poetic advice:
Tell all the Truth but tell it slant—
I have another reason, in fact a bigger one, for bringing up the Zoom webinar format.
Please allow me to tease you…
In two weeks Vlad will be celebrating his 3rd orbit around the sun.
I’m planning a birthday party (of course) and even though his favorite hipster coffee-shop-by-day / brewery-by-night cafe generously offered to host, it’s still a localized event.
After a few friends who are going to be out of town half-seriously asked if they could join via zoom, it actually began to seem like a good idea.
Next week, I’ll offer a link for anyone who wants to see Vlad and all his best dog friends celebrate.
It’ll be free, of course, although I’m also going to offer a link to one of Vlad’s favorite pet charities if you’re inspired to give…
More on that next week….
One set of Herzog facts that don’t require modification to be truly impressive are the levels of his productivity.
In a career that began in the early 1960s, he’s directed (and written or co-written) 20 fiction feature films, and 34 full-length documentaries.
(That’s correct: 54 full-length films!)
There are also 7 fiction shorts and 8 documentary shorts + some TV episodes as well.
And if that were not enough, he’s also somehow managed to appear in front of the camera as an actor (mostly as villains) in 26 film or TV productions, ranging from The Simpsons to The Mandalorian.
Indeed, on every level, he seems a master of reinvention, forever taking the next creative leap of faith into the unknown.
In the end, who really caresif anything in Herzog’s autobiography is actually factual.
As the legendary fashion icon Diana Vreeland replied when pressed if her ownfanciful autobiography was fact or fiction:
“It’s faction.
Why not make a story more interesting?”
Provided you’re not testifying before Congress or being interrogated by the FBI, I tend to agree.
Interestingly, although I’m barely into the book––and I thoroughly invite you to join me in reading it over the next few weeks––I do know how it ends.
Apparently, Herzog ends his autobiography mid-sentence.
He lets things just drop off with a fragment and a dash.
Although in the foreword he warns us he’s going to do just that––stop writing at the moment he sees the red flash of a hummingbird––nonetheless I’m sure it’ll be startling when I get there.
There’s a limit to how much you can prepare for moments of real reinvention.
Indeed, even if it leaves you suspended in midair, like Herzog, sometimes you simply have to take the leap of faith over the facts, in order to really experience your own Ecstatic Truth.
Namaste for Now,
