Call Summary: Reunion, Invitational Identity, and Commitment

Overview

A brief but meaningful reconnection call between Gary and Caroline (old friends from crypto days) after a long hiatus. Gary shared his spiritual journey including leaving Alpha Schools, his spiritual sabbatical, and recent baptism. Caroline shared insights from a call with poet David Whyte about "invitational identity" and the quality of commitment. Both reflected on slowing down and what commitment means in an age where AI can do everything quickly.

Key Topics Discussed

Gary's Journey Update

• Gauntlet AI Bootcamp: Started AI-first coding bootcamp 12 months ago
• Alpha Schools: Got recruited by the billionaire funder (Joe Liemandt) to work on AI-first school system for 4 months
• Why He Left Alpha: "The more I learned about the organization internally, the less faith I had that this was the right organization to reinvent education." Cited lack of will from leadership, middle management without the right spirit, and no visible roadmap for evolution
• Tulsa Opportunity: Got excited about working with someone who helped Shenzhen become a manufacturing powerhouse; visited multiple times but opportunity didn't materialize
• Homeless Transition: Found himself in Austin without an apartment after giving it up in anticipation of moving
• Spiritual Sabbatical: August through November was intensive spiritual exploration
• Baptism: Found a pastor a few hours from Austin who baptized him three months ago
• Current State: Figuring out 2026 work while feeling grounded; appreciating the redirections as from God

Caroline's David Whyte Call

• David Whyte: Famous Irish poet and philosopher grounded in "universal Christianity" (not doctrine/rigid) with roots in Zen Buddhism
• Invitational Identity/Leadership: His "three Sundays" framework about invitation
• Attention Struggle: Caroline admitted being distracted at the start, clicking tabs during dead silences before settling into the call
• Different From Life Coaches: "All of the calls that I've been on are... speaking in utilitarian mode. They're influencers, they're life coaches. The way that they talk about things is completely different than the sort of orientation that David had."
• Poetry as Medium: Whyte read his poetry to the group, bringing a deeply spiritual orientation

David Whyte's Key Poem Themes

• Waking Up: First poem about the magical moment between spiritual world and physical consciousness - "the magic of this world is lost immediately the moment you begin to make plans"
• Slow Website Design: Caroline noticed his website scrolls slowly on purpose - "this is completely purposeful. He wants us to slow down"
• "The Truelove" (from House of Belonging): The courageous decision poem Caroline referenced. Explores faith in loving fiercely, worthiness, and the moment of commitment. Uses the image of Peter walking on water - the "abrupt waking" and "calling" that comes "not so grandly, so Biblically, but more subtly and intimately in the face of the one you know you have to love." The poem culminates in the image of stepping out of the boat and finding "everything holds us, and confirms our courage" - choosing to live and love after years of struggle, walking across "any territory and any darkness" to take the hand that belongs in yours.

Peter Walking on Water as Commitment Metaphor

• The Scene: Disciples wake up, see Jesus on the water, panic-stricken
• Peter's Invitation: Makes it to the edge of the boat and says "help me, I want to come out on the water with you"
• Application: Image of what it feels like to make the courageous decision to commit to a person, a love, a work, a goal
• Quality of Commitment: "That commitment of reaching out to him is like... that quality is something that I really needed to be reminded of"

Slowing Down and Knowing What to Do

• Gary's Evolution: "I like the word slow a lot more than I did before. Because I think a lot of fast paced doing a bunch of things appealed to me. Maybe that was just because the environment in tech is always so fast"
• AI Paradox: "Even when you have AI tools that can do stuff for you a lot faster, knowing what to do is a lot more of the question. That deserves your meditation, deserves your prayer. It shouldn't be rushed"
• Caroline's Agreement: "In an age where you can do anything and do it so quickly, it still really comes down to what is the quality and the depth of that commitment"
• Parallel Sub-Agents: "Because we can spawn parallel sub agents, we have this weird idea of commitment and action now"

Friend's Observation About Gary's Pride

• Gary shared that a friend didn't want to address him while at Alpha because Gary was "in such a spirit of pride" that he wouldn't have been able to handle an invitation to self-reflect
• The friend waited until Gary was ready to receive that feedback
• Gary noted this relates to the "invitation" theme - sometimes we're not in a posture to receive invitations

Key Quotes

On Leaving Alpha:

"The biggest reason was that the more I learned about the organization internally, the less faith I had that this was the right organization to reinvent education."

On God's Redirections:

"I took that as an invitation from God to just basically take a spiritual sabbatical."

David Whyte on Morning Magic:

"The magic of this world is lost immediately the moment you begin to make plans."

On Life Coach vs. Poet Orientation:

"All of the calls that I've been on are... speaking in utilitarian mode. They're influencers, they're life coaches. And so the way that they talk about things is completely different than the sort of orientation that David had. I mean, he's a poet. So he's like an artist with words."

On Slowing Down:

"Even when you have AI tools that can do stuff for you a lot faster, knowing what to do is a lot more of the question. That deserves your meditation, deserves your prayer. It shouldn't be rushed."

On Commitment in AI Age:

"In an age where you can do anything and do it so quickly, it still really comes down to what is the quality and the depth of that commitment."

Action Items / Takeaways

• Schedule follow-up call next week to continue conversation
• Caroline shared David Whyte's "The Truelove" (from House of Belonging) after the call
• Both affirmed the importance of slowing down despite (or because of) AI's acceleration capabilities
• Gary feeling more grounded than before despite materially different year than planned