This past October (2024), I took a spiritual journey (pilgrimage) to the Glendalough monastic site south of Dublin, Ireland. En route, I visited London, England. In this episode, I recount the first bit of my London adventures.

You can see my photos and videos on YouTube @wesyoungwriter: Pilgrimage, Part One: London, England

Is "God" a personality or a metaphor? In Joseph Campbell's book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces, he says metaphor. In this AudioBlog, I say otherwise. Enjoy.

"Wes Young Writer" (formerly the "East & Wes" podcast) is an AudioBlog by Georgia author Wes Young. Here you’ll find essay-style writings (the sort of thing you’d expect from a blog) offered in the convenience of audio form. Find more at wesyoungwriter.com.

My new book, ONE STORY, BUILDING, is available now. Find all your purchasing options at wesyoungwriter.com (or, of course, find it on Amazon). Lots of good laughs in this book. I hope you enjoy!

Today’s episode is a sermon inspired by the topic of my forthcoming book, One Story, Building: A Memoir on the Power of Story. I hope you enjoy this recording, and when the book releases later this month (Jan. 2024), I hope you’ll order a copy. It will be available in all major online retailers (Amazon, Walmart, Barnes & Nobles, Books-a-Million, etc.), but to get a signed copy (and to cut out the middlemen), buy yours at wesyoungwriter.com.

Reaching Sol, my debut novel, is now available as an audiobook (on both Audible and Apple). Today's episode is a free sample, one chapter. Voice Actor: Charles (Chuck) Conover of Texas.

In this finale episode of Season Six, we address the maddening difficulty of work and fruit, toil and futility. If we only live in the material, natural world, then like Solomon we are left crying, "Meaningless, meaningless!" The best we can do, in the mono-dimension, is to try and enjoy our work, for it is our lot.

However, if there is both a natural and a supernatural realm, the paradigm changes. Suddenly what matters on Earth matters all the more because it also matters in Heaven. What we bind here is bound there; what we loose here is loosed there. This is a profound mystery, and one explored Scripturally in this sermon.

If you've enjoyed Season Six and are interested in more from Wes Young, keep an eye on wesyoungwriter.com for updates, especially updates on the audiobook version of my debut novel, Reaching Sol, which will be available soon on Audible and Apple.

The mainstream modern paradigm is built on the narrative that things rolled out accidentally. The only "driver," from past to present, has been the blind driver of natural selection. Any appearance, so the story goes, of design or meaning is merely ascribed by humanity. The complexity of the cosmos impresses us, arbitrarily, and so we feel there must be "more to it," but this "more" is merely a human construct.

The Christian paradigm is different. You are here, so the Christian story goes, not by accident but by design, and that matters. All matters. It matters. Today's episode explores this topic in detail.

*Note: The poem from Romans, mentioned during this episode's conclusion, can be found in Romans 11:33-36.