Ideas from September 2014

As I lookout into the field, I see a lone tree, an oak, whose branches are as wide as it is tall.  I think about this tree and how it is much like mankind.  A tree can be planted anywhere much like a person can be born in any place in this world.  How it develops is up to its surroundings and will aid in its development.  If it is out in the open field, like the tree in question, there is no excuse for it to not grow up, become strong, reach out in any direction, growing to the sky, taking in all the light it can, much like a person who grows and learns all that he or she can from all that he or she is and has been exposed to.  With this light, it grows.  With the moisture and nutrients from its base, it grows.  Just like the foundation we have been instilled with during out youth, it makes us strong.  It gives us a good base to grow upon.  The tree becomes useful in its older age, while providing shade for the animal kingdom, providing shelter for the birds and squirrels.  We, as humans, also become useful in our older age for those around us.  We are the protection from the world to those who come to us.  
            Like the tree, we grow.  We change. A limb may break, or a leaf may fall, but this is a part of life.  The tree goes through the elements.  The heat.  The cold.  The wind. The rain.  At the time, it feels alone, but without it all, it wouldn’t be what it is.  It wouldn’t grow.  It wouldn’t change.  It wouldn’t become stronger.  Every season comes and goes.  And we know this because it’s a part of life. We forget that these times will be over, but they too will pass.  The good times and the bad.  The wind, the rain, the heat, the cold.  These conditions may seem like there is no end, but they always end. Because of the seasons, we, like the tree, show our age, whether it be through our actions, our behavior or even simply through our appearance, we change.  We’re supposed to.  It, like the seasons, is an inescapable part of life.  
            And when our time is over, sometimes our memory is all that others have, but we too can be like the tree.  We are known for what we leave behind.  A tree hewn in its prime can be made into other things which will last the longer than it ever would as a living entity.  The human soul is sometimes the same.  Those taken in their prime will always be remember as great if not greater than they really were.  The love we express in those times between birth and death can be felt and sorely missed by our loved ones after we are gone.  The memories we make last longer than our bodies ever could, just as the wood from the tree will last longer than the tree itself after the living tree has seen its demise.  Our effect on mankind may be minimal in our own point of view, but to those left behind, the loss we leave is larger than the space we filled while we were here.  Just as the tree may not seem to serve its purpose while standing with others in the forest, it will be appreciated more when it is taken from the forest and turned into wood or paper or the constructs for a home…which is much like mankind, we will be appreciated more after our time has come to an end.  
            The tree in every stage of its life has something about it that we can observe and apply to our own existence.  It’s up to us, to be able to stop and observe what that may be.  


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 Jason
 

 

 

As time goes on, I look forward to being older, wiser and more knowledgeable.  Wisdom and knowledge, like all virtues, come at a price.  Patience, courage, strength and forgiveness are no different than wisdom or knowledge.   When you ask for certain virtues and you feel you’re on the road to acquiring bits and pieces of what you need, then life becomes more interesting, more trying, and more eventful.   The people you meet, the conversations you have, the events in your own life start to defy conventional thought, and make you question everything and search for answers in your times of solitude. 
            
In my story, The Secret Of Mankind, Mr. Fox’s journey away from the United States was not the beginning of his pain or adventure, it was a just a different part of what made him into what he would become.  My travels have been the same way.  I have begun to write a new novel and thinking back over the last few years or so, I’m thankful for all the people I've met, conversations I've been a part of and the places I've been.  Like Mr. Fox, I’m a much different character now than I was when I was twenty four. 

What I've learned that changes people the most... is change of routine, change of scenery, and having different people around you.  As we grow older, we usually become more patient, and we’re able to recognize the signs of things to come both good and bad.  When we see these signs, we know how to approach the events that are to follow.

Later on in the story, Mr. Fox contemplates the idea of learning all that the world has to offer.  I wrote this part of the novel years ago, but this idea has come back to me at this time in my life after something recently I have been through.  And this is where it gets interesting…

I’d have to say that the old cliché of, ‘Knowledge is power,’ is partly right.  But my question is…Who wants power?  Or who needs power? 

I believe that when a person has the capability of attaining any information, then they have a responsibility to be able to use this information for good purposes or bad.  Any more, I will try to shy away from using the terms good and bad, and use selfless and selfish, respectively.  Information, knowledge, or wisdom, when used selflessly, can be a beautiful thing and can bring peace, love and contentment.  When these virtues are used selfishly, they can bring about pain, vanity, unmerited pride, and manipulation.  It’s how we use our virtues that make us who we are. 

To be humble is something that comes in time, and comes to those who are truly good at heart.  The prideful person finds pleasure in his or her own glory, even if they have done nothing to acquire such admiration.  It’s these people that wish to have power.  A power to just be seen in a greater light than everyone else, and this is selfish, as all vanity is.

            Mr. Fox traveled the world and sought out answers to questions he had in his own mind.  His reward was the information, knowledge, and wisdom that he gained along the way while still having to deal with all of the pain, loss, and confusion in his life.  In my own experience, I've found that patience is a virtue that few have, many seek and the hardest to attain.  There is no great coronation for those who attain patience.  Like any sought after virtue by a humble person, the reward is the virtue itself.  

            We don’t climb mountains to simply raise a flag.  We don’t set goals to impress those we come across randomly in our road of life.  We do things that mean something to us, to better ourselves, and along the way it gives us character. 

A long time ago, I read the words, “For where your heart is, there your treasure will be also.”  Like Mr. Fox, I've found that our greatest treasures are not power over others, or monetary wealth, or any single thing that doesn't have a soul.  People, virtues, and selflessness, these are the great treasures we need to seek.  They come in time, and they come to those who are sincere in their search.  

 

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 Jason

 

 

 

In January 2009, I began writing a story that would encompass all that I had learned and entertained concerning the mysteries of mankind.  I wanted it to be set in a place that I was familiar with, but also in areas around the world that have always interested me and millions of others who have always found certain landmarks and cities fascinating and mysterious, if not inexplicable. 

During the five and a half years of writing this story, I learned more and more, not just about the different landmarks like the Egyptian Pyramids, Stonehenge, and the constellations, but that people are still people regardless of the era they lived.  I took my time with this story, because I wanted it to be enjoyable, suspenseful and give anyone who should read it, a different outlook on how history has been presented.

I finished writing this story on July 4th of 2014.  I have written one other novel in which I finished prior to the start of this one, but after countless letters to agents and publishers, I knew it was going to be a hard road to get a book published based on its controversial content concerning conspiracy theories which led to the creation of this new novel.   Also, I needed some sort of help in order to become a published author, and on September 2nd, 2014, that help came to me in a way that I never saw coming. 

Every Labor Day weekend for the past few years, I have made a point to go somewhere I’ve never been, but usually far away from home that I would have to fly.  I originally decided to go to Puerto Rico for a few days, but before scheduling the trip, I felt that the extra charges in the fine print of the agreement were too much.  I decided against going to Puerto Rico, and just days before my trip, I decided to go to San Diego, California.  

            I had always wanted to see California.  Los Angeles was too big to walk around, and San Francisco was probably not as warm, so San Diego was where I decided to go.  As I do in bigger cities, I walked around the town and saw some amazing things like a man with no arms playing a guitar and singing, numerous groups of beautiful women on bachelorette parties on a Saturday night, the west coast sunsets, a Padres/Dodgers game, sea lions at the dock where I went fishing, numerous bars and restaurants, the beauty of the city and great weather. 

Somewhere along the end of the trip I felt that I had lost my motivation for everything in general.  I could blame it on being so far from home and no familiar faces around me, but I was soon to have that motivation back , if not more than ever.  I flew from San Diego to Atlanta and then from Atlanta to Charlotte, North Carolina.  I was in my seat on the plane and the person to my right had not shown up yet.  I watched as the people would pass and wondered which large person or which mother with the crying baby would be sitting beside me for the hour long flight.  To my surprise, it was none of those people.

I noticed a young petite blonde woman walking down the aisle.  She reminded me of a bartender I once knew in Columbia, South Carolina, but it wasn’t her.  She sat down in the seat to my right which was the window seat.  I asked her where she was from.  She said she was from Australia, but now lived in New York City.  I thought this was pretty fascinating because I had just been to New York City the previous Labor Day, and I had always wanted to see the Land Down Under. 

Instead of asking her name, I asked what she did for a living.  She replied, “I’m an author and also I consult other authors.”

I smirked and couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  I was able to contain myself pretty well without her noticing what I was about to say next.  I told her that I had just finished writing a novel of my own in July.  She looked at me with a sense of determination directly in my eyes and said, “You must let me help you.”

I said that I would be glad to let her help me.  I gave her my name and she told me her name was Liana.  We continued to talk on the flight about what I needed to do in order for my book to become published to a nationwide or worldwide audience.  As soon as I was off of the plane, I started doing some of the things that I needed to do.  Four months later with guidance of the author of The Earth Diet, Liana Werner-Gray, I was able to set things in order.  The creation and launch of this website is a critical step in what will help turn my ideas over the past six years into a real life, tangible book that can be read one day by potentially millions. 

I always had a feeling that somehow, some way that this book would be published.  I never had any idea, the one person who could help me turn my ideas and goals into reality, would be someone sitting beside me on a plane.  The chances of this happening were very slim.  It’s rare that you meet people who can help you along the road of life in such improbable circumstances. 

I value my words and I value the people who take time to read what I write.  I write because I feel it’s only fair to pass on what I have learned and what I have gained in this world to people who are willing to listen, and those in search of the same virtues I seek. 

Life has a way about it that has no rhyme or reason, in good and bad situations.  If I had gone to Puerto Rico, then none of the last four months would have happened the way it did.  If I had taken a straight flight from San Diego to Charlotte, these past few months would have been very different.  The people I have met through Facebook, the creation of my author page, and the ideas that I have been blessed to share would not have ever happened.  Looking back at these past few months, I see that anything that has happened over the past six years has lead me up to this point of my life.  The dream I had that inspired the novel, the books I read, the places I traveled, the choices I made each and every day of my life has helped make the present a culmination of all that happened before it.  This happens in everyone’s life to a certain extent, but the realization of this has made a huge impact on me. 

The people I’ve met and conversations I’ve had over the years, like everyone else, has shaped who I am and how I think.  It’s amazing to look back and see how the events of your life can bring about a good future or a bad one based on even the simplest of decisions.  We never know what the future holds or who will pop in or out of our lives, but there’s always something to learn from their presence.   

I’ll write more on this and other aspects of the secret of mankind as time allows.  So, in closing this first blog, I thank you for reading.  I’ll have more stories about the book and other ideas posted here about once a week.  Please subscribe if you haven’t done so already.  (It’s free.) 


And I thank you, kindly...


Jason