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
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