17 Dec 2025 · 2 min
Brian Johnson uses a light bulb metaphor to argue we're vessels for divine light, and our job is to optimize ourselves by mastering fundamentals so we can shine brighter and help others. Get your wattage up.
Hi, this is Brian. Welcome back to another arete. One degree, another micro chapter from our new book, activate your heroic potential. This one is called the Lighthouse. Get your wattage up. Joseph Campbell once posed the koan question, what am I? Am I the bulb that carries the light, or am I the light of which the bulb is a vehicle? Hmm. Well, what are you? Are you the bulb that carries the light, or are you the light of which the bulb is a vehicle? I say yes. How about you? Now saving the longer philosophical spiritual chat for another time, let's assume that at the very least, we are the humble bulb through which the light shines. If that's the case, then one of our main jobs in life, if not the job with a capital J, is to get our bulbs optimized so we can handle as much of that divine light as we possibly can. I mean, would you rather be a 20 watt bulb that blows up the moment more light tries to get through, or a stable 60 or 100 watt bulb that lights up the room? Or for the spiritually ambitious among us, why not see if we can become great souls that shine like a thousand watt lighthouse bulb lighting up our part of the world during these stormy times. How do we do that? I repeat, we dominate our fundamentals.
