# Timeless Wisdom John Ricard explores ancient language, faith, and imagination in pursuit of a meaningful life. Page: Feed: --- ## [The Living Trivium: Why the Sayers Model Is Brilliant—and Incomplete](https://johnricard.substack.com/p/the-living-trivium-why-the-sayers) _2026-07-29 · John Ricard_ Dorothy Sayers gave modern classical education one of its most influential frameworks. But what if her developmental model describes emphasis rather than the full architecture of learning? ## [What If Morality Isn't Something We Invented?](https://johnricard.substack.com/p/what-if-morality-isnt-something-we) _2026-07-26 · John Ricard_ Why do we experience obligation? Before asking where morality comes from, perhaps we should first ask why every human being experiences the quiet voice of "ought." ## [The Last American: Message in a Bottle #001](https://johnricard.substack.com/p/the-last-american-message-in-a-bottle) _2026-07-23 · John Ricard_ Myth is greater than history: musings about my approach to a tricky subject matter ## [The Living Trivium: The Trivium Was Never About School Grades](https://johnricard.substack.com/p/the-living-trivium-the-trivium-was) _2026-07-22 · John Ricard_ What if the trivium isn't a sequence of school years, but the universal pattern by which human beings learn? ## [Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey: A Magnificent Misunderstanding of Myth](https://johnricard.substack.com/p/christopher-nolans-the-odyssey-a) _2026-07-19 · John Ricard_ A thoughtful reflection on why Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey succeeds as cinema while falling short as myth. ## [The Hidden Wisdom of Supergirl and the Recovery of Vocation](https://johnricard.substack.com/p/the-hidden-wisdom-of-supergirl-and) _2026-07-02 · John Ricard_ A story about trauma, vocation, and why we discover ourselves only by giving ourselves away. ## [The Lost Language of Brotherhood – Achilles, Patroclus, and the Modern Imagination](https://johnricard.substack.com/p/the-lost-language-of-brotherhood) _2026-05-12 · John Ricard_ Why does modern culture struggle to imagine deep male friendship without sexualizing it? Homer may hold the answer. ## [Unbinding the Mind: Weekly Koans & Reflections 8/25/2025 – 8/31/2025](https://johnricard.substack.com/p/unbinding-the-mind-weekly-koans-and-deb) _2025-09-01 · John Ricard_ A weekly collection of koans and reflections, helping us question what binds us—and discover the freedom waiting within. ## [Unbinding the Mind: Weekly Koans & Reflections August 18–24, 2025](https://johnricard.substack.com/p/unbinding-the-mind-weekly-koans-and-17e) _2025-08-25 · John Ricard_ A weekly journey through modern koans and timeless wisdom—challenging assumptions, seeking truth, and unbinding the mind. ## [Retro Grid Dungeon Crawler (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/EDXWWiHLSEXM) _2025-08-25 · **Sponsored**_ Retro grid movement with first-person combat, loot and skill-tree progression. ## [Unbinding the Mind: Weekly Koans & Reflections 8/12/2025 – 8/17/2025](https://johnricard.substack.com/p/unbinding-the-mind-weekly-koans-and-922) _2025-08-18 · John Ricard_ A weekly journey through modern koans and timeless wisdom—challenging assumptions, seeking truth, and unbinding the mind.