Some reflections today about how many of the observations and prescriptions offered by Rainn Wilson in his book, “Soul Boom: Why We Need a Spiritual Revolution” are in line with the Heal Our Culture” Project.
We can all choose to live as “culture healers, not culture warriors.”
Video Summary:
On July 22, 2026, I recorded this reflection from Collegiate Peaks Campground, just below Cottonwood Pass in Colorado, where I’d spent three days and two nights on a solo camping trip with our two golden retrievers while my spouse attended a teacher retreat in Divide, Colorado. It turned into something of a personal retreat for me too, with plenty of time to think, read, and watch the weather roll across the mountains.
Much of my reflection centered on Soul Boom by Rain Wilson, a book I’d almost finished listening to and highly recommend. While I don’t agree with everything in it, and I’m not signing on to the new spiritual framework Wilson proposes, I found his cultural observations remarkably on point, and I appreciated his approachable style and the warmth of his own narration. The book argues for a kind of spiritual revolution, and for becoming what I’d call culture healers, people who take their own spiritual wellness and turn it into action that serves and loves others and builds real community.
Two big takeaways surfaced for me during this time alone. First, I want to return to the weight loss I achieved before our move from Oklahoma to North Carolina, because I believe it would make a real difference in my overall wellbeing. Second, I felt a strong pull toward making more room for deep work and deep thinking, the kind that is nearly impossible in the distracted, overstimulated environment most of us live in today. That theme connects directly to a presentation I’ve been developing over the past year on reclaiming our news feeds. I’ll be giving a short talk on this topic, tentatively titled “Your Algorithms, Your Feed” or “Your Feed, Your Algorithms,” at the free Civics of Technology conference on August 6 and 7 (civicsoftechnology.org). My core argument is that neither individuals nor institutions, schools included, have adjusted well to the overwhelming deluge of information now available to us.
I want to be clear that I’m not a Luddite longing for some imagined simpler past. In many ways, life in 2026 is better than ever, with gains in life expectancy, medicine, food access, and a global decline in extreme poverty. But the ongoing culture war in the United States, and the broader rise of authoritarianism worldwide, is real, and it often ties itself to nationalistic and exclusionary messages that pit one group against another rather than building the kind of welcoming, cooperative world we need.
Alongside Soul Boom, I’ve also been reading the memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, a striking contrast in tone and subject matter, but a reminder of how much value there is in reading widely. Whatever else came out of this trip, my hope is the same one I’d offer anyone: find time to care for yourself, find time to be well, find time to serve others and live in community with them, and look for ways to be a culture healer, because I believe that’s a calling each of us shares.
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