I Left A Cave At 35,000 Feet Above The Pacific
I stretch, groggily waking up from a dreamless, deep sleep. I look at the screen. Another eight hours. My shoulders drop, I close my eyes again, a feeling of peacefulness washes over me. What is normally a metal tube of discomfort is my sanctuary. Seven hours of sleep into the flight and eight to go. My mind spins from the crazily intense week in Chicago. A great week made by amazing people. I read back through my journal from yesterday:
Thursday 21st September 2023, Chicago
Having finished my company’s masters, I’d like to reflect on what I have learnt from my network as it might illuminate me in the future. David: critical thinking. Elie: asking questions. Jianing: trust. Nanna: listening (and an Arsenal fan). Eimear: prepared and kind. Carlotta: leadership… Cami, James, Luc, Mateja, Maks, Alexa, Karla, Mithra, Eric.
Spending time with people who are genuinely smarter than you and who flew from all four corners of the world – Mexico, USA, Netherlands, Chile, China, UK, Italy, France, Thailand – illuminates you in a way that is impossible otherwise.
I close my eyes, the gentle humming of flight EVA Air 55 to Taipei helps me to fall back to sleep. But, not for long. My mind is awake now. I pick up my pen, check the screen for the date, it’s Saturday? We’ve crossed the date line.
Saturday 23rd September 2023, over the Pacific
So, what do I see my 10-year life vision as? Definitely children, two of them, in school with great friends. They’re thriving because their parents are thriving. I see myself loving and smashing whatever I am doing.
Writing a book.
Having a podcast or some other form of media. I will be deeply knowledgeable about human psychology… leadership, FUN at work, authenticity. I’ll have a platform to disseminate this knowledge… humanity and learning is the future… I really get very emotional writing this, because I feel huge purpose and passion as I write. To raise the game of humanity, however I can, and to disseminate my knowledge, ideas and experience.
As I write this entry, reflecting on my journey through business school, consulting and corporate, I know something must change. I don’t have the language or the plans but at 35,000 feet, some light has crept into my spirit – something Plato wrote about 2,400 years ago.
The chains you don’t see
Imagine you are sat in a dark cave, shackled at the ankles, wrists and neck to a brick wall, shoulder to shoulder with people just like you. Unseen by you, hooded figures move behind the wall. Some of the figures maintain a bright fire. Others hold long sticks, topped with a carved object that casts shadow on the opposite cave wall. Shadows of cats, dogs, trees, stars.
With your back against the tall brick wall and unable to move even your neck, this is your reality.
One day your chains break free from the brick wall. You glance at your fellow prisoners – shackles still binding their bodies to the wall – and take one last look at the shadows. You feel your way in the dark through the cave until you see glimmers and then direct light for the first time in your life. Scrabbling blindly over rocks, cutting your knees, you emerge into the world above.
For days you crawl, running your fingers through the blades of green grass, dipping your fingers in the ripples of a nearby stream. After a week, colour, shape and depth begin to emerge. You stand up and from this higher vantage you see a cat swiping at an insect and a man walking besides a dog. A real dog, with its shiny fur and its trotting shadow. As the sun sets, the shadows elongate. You look up to the night sky and see the stars in all their beauty, their true form. Your eyes are opening to the tricks of the cave.
Like all good main characters, you cannot wait to share life’s real beauty with your fellow prisoners. Re-entering the cave, you struggle to adjust to the darkness and can just make out the hooded figures and fire. The cats, dogs, trees and stars shadowed on the wall are now just a blur. You circle the wall, squinting through the gloom towards the prisoners below. “We knew you’d be back,” the one nearest says. “Look, he can’t even see,” the next one along laughs.
Tears stinging your eyes, you explain the falseness of their predicament. “The shapes on the walls aren’t real.” You stress to them how much they are missing outside. You even offer to break their chains so they can see for themselves. “He’s gone mad,” the prisoner at the end of the line mutters to his neighbour. Crestfallen, you make your way back out of the cave, leaving the laughing prisoners behind.
If Plato’s Allegory of the Cave sounds strangely familiar, it should. Many movies are based on the allegory of the cave. The Matrix and The Truman Show being two of the most famous. I will assume you’ve watched both, if not please stop reading this and watch these movies – I assure you they’re better than this blog.
What wall are you chained to
In this fast-moving world we live in, there is more reason to ask ourselves, ‘what wall am I chained to?’ I believe the question is rhetorical, like our sedentary prisoners, you don’t know you are in the cave until you leave.
There is that moment on the train when your phone dies, and you’re forced to look up. A sea of humans, necks unnaturally bent, shoulders rounded, faces lit by the cold blue glow of their screens. You’re not surprised by the sight. After all, you were part of this spectacle – this cave – this morning.
Maybe you are in a cave of 21st century pleasure addiction, of Pornhub, Instagram (Instant-Gratification), overeating, gaming? Maybe you’re in a cave in your relationship, always responding to the demands, the emotions and the actions of your partner. Perhaps it’s your career. Despite all the LinkedIn likes on your recent promotion, you still go to bed on a Sunday night with dread of what awaits you on Monday morning.
How to get out of the cave
The truth is, we don't know we're in the cave until inspiration strikes and breaks our chains. We may never be as enlightened as Plato and other spiritual figures from the past. But we can do two things. We can invite inspiration through adventure. Talk to someone new. Step into an unfamiliar environment. Read something you disagree with. Second, you can follow the wisdom of the ancient Greeks and know thyself. Begin with your values. They are the compass that will guide you out of the cave and into the light.
I sit and write this having just finished the introduction to my book. The stepping stone from corporate to solo was in the right direction. I am not sure what’s next, but tomorrow I’ll be flying to an island in Thailand for an adventure – who knows what inspiration will strike.
Deepen Your Curiosity
Plato's Allegory of the Cave by After Skool on YouTube.
Watch the movies The Matrix and The Truman Show.
Translation of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave by Shawn Eyer at Harvard University.
I recently wrote a blog about Adventure and if you are looking for further inspiration watch The Long Way Home on Apple TV with Charley Boorman and Ewan McGregor.
