Modern Day Philosopher Series: Zach Cytryn

It’s a hot, June day in Paris. I’m sitting at a corner cafe overlooking the Seine and the Pont de l’Alma by the Eiffel Tower. To my left is my childhood friend, Zach, who is visiting me for the weekend. To my right is Leslie, the girl I’ve just started dating. They are meeting for the first time.

“Once I told everyone about my job as a playground architect, the wedding wasn’t so bad,” Zach starts. “It was the perfect icebreaker. People asked me all sorts of questions.”

Leslie is intrigued. “How does one become a playground architect?” She asks. “What did you study in school?”

“Oh, just architecture. I’m really into landscape design,” he responds, staying in character. “Yeah, I love building things I know kids will enjoy one day. It’s rewarding work.”

I’m doing my best not to burst out laughing. 

Zach goes on to show us photos of the wedding. Despite knowing no one besides his own date going into it, his playground architect face appears in every other photo. He’s dancing with the bride and groom. Then he’s dancing the hora with the bride’s grandmother. He even made it into the family picture!

That’s Zach. 

I have known Zach since age 13. On the surface, he is just a normal guy. He stands tall at 6’1 with blond hair. He has a sort of sleepy look in his eyes, one born from an unburdened appreciation of the present moment. He moves with a heavy stride. But, put a ball in his hands and he becomes deceptively quick.

Zach is not a playground architect. He played one for fun just to test his improvisation skills. His day job is actually a real estate broker.

To me, however, he is neither playground architect nor real estate broker. To me, he is Zach, modern day philosopher.

Let me explain. 

Philosophy has become so academic that it has made us believe that we have to be Socrates and Plato to be considered philosophers. We forget that in their own day, these thinkers were ahead of their time, often ridiculed and shunned.

In reality, anyone who asks good questions and seeks to create human connection is practicing philosophy. Zach has an incredible ability to do this. 

The founding principle of Modern Day Philosopher is this: anyone can be a philosopher.

So, if anyone can be a philosopher, why not Zach? Why not us?

Once we embrace this idea, we can begin to pay tribute to the everyday people that inspire us daily. We may also discover our own ability to inspire each other. 

So Zach, this is my tribute to you.

The first mark of any great philosopher is the ability to ask great questions. 

Contrary to popular belief, philosophical questions are not always deep and existential. They are entertaining, to draw people in. Or simple, to cut straight to the truth.

Questions that entertain

In high school, Zach was known for making up “would you rather” questions. He would concoct a hypothetical scenario and the next day, our entire grade would be huddled in groups, debating which superpower was better: flying or teleportation? And what would be harder, beating Kobe Bryant one-on-one or tackling Adrian Peterson in the open field?

These may not seem like your traditional philosophical discussions, but the fact is that these questions regularly prompted a bunch of high-school students to unite to talk about the same topic together. We introduced evidence, we rebutted, we argued passionately for our side of an issue. 

It was fun and playful and it all started with Zach’s questions.

Questions that cut straight to the truth

In our intellectual quest to appear smarter, we will often make things more complicated than they need to be. Truly great questions are simple and reveal the truth.

If you have the privilege to spend more intimate moments with Zach, he has a way of cutting through the BS and distilling life to a simpler form.

“Do you like her?” Zach asked me on that same trip to Paris.

“Yeah,” I responded.

“Do you want to date other people?”

“No.” 

“I don’t understand. Why haven’t you made it official then?”

He asked the question so earnestly that it acted like a truth serum. I was overthinking. Zach simplified.

Right after Zach’s trip, I finally asked Leslie to go steady. We’ve been dating four years now.

It was a simple question, asked by a normal person, and it changed the course of my life.

A great philosopher brings people together to talk about life. 

There is an ancient Stoic philosophy about how to set yourself up to be more satisfied in any situation. Epictetus’ writes about this in his work Encheiridion. To put in a modern context, Epictetus states that you should enter into situations such as business meetings with multiple intentions: one for the outcome of the meeting and one for how you manage your emotions during the meeting: “I want to have a good meeting, and I also want to keep a pleasant demeanor throughout.” Now, you have created a scenario where you can control more of the outcomes of what will constitute a “successful meeting.”

I missed a call from Zach the other day. When I called him back half an hour later, I found myself in the middle of a conversation happening on the other end of the line. 

“Hello?” I interrupted.

“Yar?” Started a surprised voice I recognized, but not as Zach’s.

“Yeah, hi…” I responded… “Is this Ryan?”

“Yeah of course! What’s up, man?”

Apparently, after I didn’t answer the call, Zach proceeded to call other friends until someone—in this case Ryan—answered his call. As each friend called back, he added them to the call. Suddenly, four old friends were back on the phone together. 

Zach has an ability to bring people together in a way that seems effortless to anyone from the outside. He brings serendipity to you.

Without knowing it, Zach applied Epictetus’ concept to a simple phone call. He didn’t get discouraged when his initial intention did not work out. He just called the next person. What resulted was a phone call that was greater than what he expected. 

Bringing modern day philosophy into your life.

There is a certain shift that occurs in our lives when we begin to notice the little touches of genius we encounter each day. Everyday people bring a unique approach to life that can prove to be incredibly wise and get us to think differently.

I like to believe that the people at the wedding wanted to believe Zach. He has a way of enchanting you into wanting to believe the world can be ask quirky and sweet as he makes it appear. 

Zach uses his personality and his questioning to stimulate your imagination and he is always seeking to create deeper human connections. So, how is he not performing the work of a philosopher?

I urge each of us to notice these acts of humanity, these simple pleasures. These are the murmurs of philosophical movements. Start recognizing these people who are modern day philosophers in disguise and do not delay in reaching out to them and showing them your appreciation. Life is too short. Moments are gone too soon.

Not everyone can become a great philosopher, but a great philosopher can come from anywhere.