#443: What Building Your Own Coffin Teaches You About Life, Death, and Meaning

#443: What Building Your Own Coffin Teaches You About Life, Death, and Meaning

When David Giffels was 50 years old and completely healthy, he decided to build his own coffin with his 81-year-old, master craftsman father. Why? Well, I ask him that on today’s podcast. David Giffels is a writer who previously published a book of essays about growing up in the Rust Belt of Ohio in the 1970s. That title is called The Hard Way on Purpose. In his latest book, Furnishing Eternity: A Father, a Son, a Coffin, and a Measure of Life, he recounts the experience of building his own coffin with his father and the lessons about life, aging, and death that he picked up along the way.

We begin the show discussing why many in the Rust Belt live by the motto, "The Hard Way on Purpose," and how it manifests itself in their undying loyalty to their sports teams that come up short year after year. We then shift gears and discuss David’s project of building his own casket with his dad, the expectations he had going into it, and why lying in your own coffin is, unfortunately, not as profound of an experience as you’d think it would be.

Get the show notes at aom.is/giffels.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Jaksot(1159)

A Guide to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

A Guide to Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of the book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig. It's a peculiar book, especially for a bestseller. Not a lot of it is ac...

29 Touko 202453min

Tactics and Mindset Shifts for Making the Most of Life

Tactics and Mindset Shifts for Making the Most of Life

Note: This is a rebroadcast.Matthew Dicks wears a lot of hats. Among other things, he’s a storyteller, communications consultant, writer, and schoolteacher. In order to excel in his professional life,...

27 Touko 202455min

The Shadows Over Men's Hearts and How to Fight Them

The Shadows Over Men's Hearts and How to Fight Them

There are a lot of unspoken challenges and hidden battles that men face in modern society. They often manifest themselves in a uniquely male malaise where a man feels apathetic, frustrated, cynical, a...

22 Touko 202458min

Patton and the Bulge: Blood, Guts, and Prayer

Patton and the Bulge: Blood, Guts, and Prayer

General George S. Patton is known for his aggressive, action-oriented tactical brilliance.His character was also marked by a lesser-known but equally fundamental mystic piety.Those two qualities would...

20 Touko 202447min

Embracing the Strive State

Embracing the Strive State

We often think happiness will be found in the completion of a goal. We often think happiness will be found in ease and comfort. My guest says real joy is found in the journey rather than the destinati...

15 Touko 202447min

The Dude's Guide to Laundry: How to Save Time, Money, and Your Wardrobe

The Dude's Guide to Laundry: How to Save Time, Money, and Your Wardrobe

If you didn’t grow up doing your own laundry, once you headed out on your own, you probably just figured things out on the fly, hoped for the best, and have been doing things the same way ever since. ...

13 Touko 202448min

How to Get Better at Anything

How to Get Better at Anything

Life revolves around learning—in school, at our jobs, even in the things we do for fun. But we often don’t progress in any of these areas at the rate we’d like. Consequently, and unfortunately, we oft...

8 Touko 202446min

Of Strength and Soul — Exploring the Philosophy of Physical Fitness

Of Strength and Soul — Exploring the Philosophy of Physical Fitness

When you’re lifting weights, you might be thinking about setting a new PR or doing your curls for the girls.But throughout history, philosophers have thought about physical fitness on a deeper level a...

6 Touko 202457min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
psykopodiaa-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
rss-narsisti
adhd-podi
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rss-rahamania
psykologia
rss-niinku-asia-on
kesken
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-valo-minussa-2
rss-tietoinen-yhteys-podcast-2
leikitaanko-laakaria
ihminen-tavattavissa-tommy-hellsten-instituutti
puhutaan-koiraa
jari-sarasvuo-podcast
rss-hereilla
dreamtalk
rss-kohti-tasapainoista-ja-lempeaa-elamaa