Gary Gulman on the Comedy of Life
PLUS—A Soul Boom Poem, Narrated By Penn Badgely & Rainn Wilson!
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Okay. Back to Gary Gulman, the tragicomic nature of life, big cosmic questions, and the stuff we're all made of.
Greetings, Soul Boomlets!
Perhaps you’ve seen one of Gary Gulman’s uproarious comedy specials—like The Great Depresh (which, as Rainn says, is one of his all-time favorites). If so, you already know Gary doesn’t just deliver punchlines—he opens up about the messy, beautiful, painful reality of being human, and somehow makes it hilarious.
In this week’s Soul Boom podcast, Gary and Rainn dive deep. They talk candidly about Gary’s years-long battle with depression, the surprising treatment that finally helped him heal, and the daily spiritual practices—like gratitude, meditation, and tiny acts of self-care—that help him stay grounded today. Along the way, they wrestle with some of the biggest, oldest questions humans have ever asked: Why do we suffer? Where is God in the midst of pain? And could it be that this world is actually a “soul-growing machine”?
These are questions that have echoed through the centuries—in scripture, in song, and in poetry. So in the spirit of this conversation, we thought it would be timely to share a Soul Boom original poem that explores these very themes. It’s called Children of Dust, written by one of Soul Boom’s executive producers—and brought to life in a special audio collaboration featuring the voices of Rainn Wilson and Penn Badgley, with original music composed by Soul Boom’s own art director, Jack Sjogren.
Penn, fresh off the fifth and final season of You on Netflix, brings his usual depth and introspection to the piece. If you watched Penn’s Soul Boom episode, you know he’s a deeply philosophical guy—so this collaboration felt like a natural fit.
Take a listen. Let it wash over you—and remember:
Even if we are just specks of dust floating through the cosmos,
we’re not just any ol’ specks of dust.
We’re stardust, baby ✨
—The Soul Boom Team
A Note from Rainn on the poem:
This poem is really good stuff. There’s a lot of Rumi and Hafez in it—which I love—because most contemporary poetry doesn’t really go there anymore. It doesn’t ask the big questions: Why are we here? Why are we alive? Are we infinite? Are we made of stars?
I know a lot of poets—my friends, my wife Holly’s friends—and the poetry world today is very… well, there's often an academic distance to it. It becomes more about the craft of the language than the deeper existential or spiritual themes.
So it’s rare to come across a poem that isn’t afraid to go big, to wrestle with those timeless questions—but also doesn’t feel overly sentimental or precious. This poem pulls it off. Enjoy!
— Rainn
CHILDREN OF DUST
A special Soul Boom poem, narrated by Rainn Wilson and Penn Badgley
What does this poem evoke in you?
If joy and sorrow are just guests (as Rumi might say) both to be welcomed, both a guide—what have you learned from their stays?
Let us know in the comments below!
Oh—and before we go—
Tickets are still available for our first-ever Soul Boom Live!
Largo at the Coronet! 8 PM, Tuesday May 27!
Creed Bratton (yes, that Creed from The Office) will be opening the night with music.
And while we still can’t tell you who the special guest is—trust us—you won’t want to miss it!
OK, I have to jump on this...haven't heard the poem read, haven't watched the podcast, but I have to let you know my first thoughts on this gorgeous poem. First, I love thinking that this physical body is made of stardust. Second, if joy and sorrow are twins, I have some questions. If they are Siamese twins, are they inseparable? And if one were to separate them, would one have to die for the other to live? If they are Siamese twise who can be separated, why would we not want to separate them? If they are fraternal twins, it makes sense that they do not look (or feel) alike. If they are identical but wearing different clothes, do they sometimes switch costumes to fool their parent(s)? Sometimes we feel that we are not worthy of having joy, but we are infinitely worthy of having sorrow. I have moments of fleeting joy, but then guilt reminds me of how incapable I am of extending that experience...
If all you had written was “we do not wonder why we are happy, only why we suffer”, that would have been enough. Its a big thing to ruminate on. Great book on this topic: The Art of Happiness by Howard C. Cutler and the Dali Lama. One key point that stood out to me in the book is the idea that people who help others are happier. When I lived in China, I noticed people were servile and helpful to each other, always followed with “没事没事”, its nothing its nothing when graciously thanked. Those in collectivist societies seem generally happier than our individualist society. Here’s a homework assignment: if you’re brutally independent, ask a genuinely kind person for help and if you know youre selfish with your time, find an opportunity to help someone with something beyond money. Both will be uncomfortable, yet fulfilling. Final thoughts: a poem I wrote in 2015 hits on some similar ideas.
Chaos Theory
give me some chaos and I'll love you forever
like the universe that was born of it
God had yet to speak of butterflies,
flitting wings in their dreams in his dreams-microscopic dust became this moment
If from chaos we have come,
we are our most fortunate chain of events
Emily Van V