Life Beyond You or Me
Mountain Man- Today, I’m going to tell you a story. Well, I guess it’s more than a story.
Maybe a Testimony? Yes, that’s what we’ll call it. My Testimony.
Well, I should start from the beginning, as it would make no sense to start from the end, or the middle.
The first day of my life was exactly thirteen days ago. This was the day I decided to lose my name. Not lose in the sense that I misplaced it, but lose in the sense that I gave it up, you understand? A worldly name really doesn’t make sense, you know? Why give yourself a name, because you are so much more than that. So much more.
I had already dreamed of living on my own for several years. I guess I was just afraid to. Solitude can be a scary thing, you know? Of course you know. You probably live in a family, or at least in a city. Now I’m talking total solitude. All by myself. And the funny thing is, I don’t even get lonely, but that doesn’t matter.
See, I lived in a big house, by a big forest, next to a big road. I owned big cars and had some big ideas of my own. I had big influence, too. That was all okay for a time, power, but it did make me realize some things. But that part comes later, so forget I ever said it.
My servants called me “Sir”. I liked that. Respect. Not something you find everywhere, you know? I was a foolish man, that’s for sure.
Well, thirteen days ago, that was such an awful day. It’s rather hard to remember so far back, you know? But that’s a day I’ll never forget. What a glorious day… That day, I saw through people. I didn’t just look at them. But through them. I knew people. What I saw scared me. It may be unusual, to see a grown man running terrified. There was no threat, no surprise. Yet I was in utter terror. Greed. Malice. The intent in their eyes was so… so evil. Yet it was condoned by so many people. Too many people. So that was the moment I decided to run. I just left it all behind without a second thought.
You know, I loved those people. I had family in them. I just couldn’t handle seeing them that way. I couldn’t do it. So I left, you understand? You must understand, don’t you? Well, you probably don’t… as you are still living as you were. We’re all hypocrites at some times in our lives. But until you see through people, you have no idea.
Well, I ran. I ran and never stopped.
That’s how I ended up here, you understand? Here’s a good place. I guess I don’t know exactly where I am. I’m glad I don’t, that would probably only disappoint me. But when I reached here, unusual things started to happen, you know. Not unusual in the sense of pigs flying, or cats grinning or dogs speaking English. But unusual in the sense that it gave me the feeling that this is were all realization happened. The start of it all, you know?
It was a glorious place, and I was there for a day or two before anything really happened. But when it happened… it was wild. Truly wild. See, I met God. And I walked with him, and talked with him. We walked and talked through the lakes and streams, around enormous redwoods and over ancient bridges. God told me things.
God was… interesting. To say the least. I could not, for the life of me, tell you what God looked like. Or sounded like. I’m not even sure how I knew it was him. I just knew. You know?
God and I walked and talked for days. He told me how pleased he was with His creation. Humans, in particular. He loves us. A lot. Very, very proud of us. Which surprised me, what with all of the wars and murders and genocides and crusades, all in His name. He knows our intentions, and he’s not ashamed. He knows what humans are capable of, and the thought intrigues him.
I was very proud. To be walking and talking with… Him! How many people can say that they’ve conversed with God, you know? Well He really knows what’s what, right? I think He likes all of the attention he gets. All of the prayers, the dedications. He was a lot like me, before I left people. I loved the attention. But I realized that life isn’t all about that, which is partially why I ran thirteen days ago.
I asked God questions. And to most of which, He replied with just a soft smile. I suppose that was His way of saying that everything is going according to His plan, you understand?
So many things were going through my head, you know? I guess they should be. After all, I am walking and talking with God, you know?
We went on this way for several days. Just walking and talking. He taught me things. But I couldn’t help getting the feeling that he wasn’t telling me something, you know? Like he had this huge master-plan, but he didn’t want to tell me. That sort of bugged me. He is supposed to be this great, all-powerful guy, right? So in the end, I asked him.
I asked Him what the big idea was. What wasn’t He telling me. But he wouldn’t say. I guess I shouldn’t blame Him. He is God, after all. And I’m just a person. But still, I was sort of put off by that.
By now, it was the thirteenth day. Today, actually. God told me something. He said that everything that had happened to me, up until thirteen days ago, was his doing. He conceived me, he gave birth to me, he brought me up, he helped me grow, he made my decisions, and in the end, he was going to kill me. I had no choice in the matter, until thirteen days ago. When I ran. When I saw through people. When I knew.
Now, here, God has no control over me. God can’t tell me what to do, can’t make my decisions for me, can’t conceive me, give birth to me, or kill me. Here, I’m on my own. He gave me a choice. He said that I could either go back to the way I was, embrace Him and people. Or I could stay here. I could stay in a world where I can make my own decisions and decide my own life.
It was at this moment that I understood that God is just a little kid. Playing with his toys. And when one toy breaks, when one toy does something he doesn’t want. He tosses it aside. He breaks it. He abolishes it. He destroys it.
In this moment of realization, I understood that God is a tyrant. God has the power and control over all people. Until they decide to run their own lives.
In the end, he gave me a choice. He gave me life under Him, or life beyond you or me.
I took life beyond you or me. Life isn’t real. Not when your every decision is made for you. Not when your birth and death are planned events in the book of Life, written by another.
Today, I leave you with a choice: Be a slave in your own mind and body, or transcend the chains and words of mental slavery.
"Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds."
Author notes
Here's a story I wrote. It was originally going to be a screenplay, but I ended up only writing one character into it. So I guess it's all narrated, haha.
Tell me what you think.
Peace and love
---Connor
- World Religions Atheist and Agnostic D group list • next in list
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 8 of 8
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man.... this is... so out there... it blows my mind man. trippy as hell. I have to say man. You have got to be the best writer I've met on AP. And I'm glad I did. I bet you don't even know how much your writings have helped through some stuff in my own life man. I thank you for that. I hope your talent carries you far in this life.
-Angel-
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Simply put this could be transformed into your screen play once again. You just have to go beyond this point and perhaps before it with the listener and the many things that the listener has went through and how this story will change the listener. Nicely Pened typed whatever. Keep up the good work
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Baha’u’’llah taught that the greatest gift that God gave to mankind was the gift of understanding. With it we can recognize reality and from this point live to the fullest within it. Art is one’s display of the Recognition of the reality around them, reflected in various ways. Our minds are like prisms that take in the light, REALITY, and a myriad of colors pour through us in our art. Our lives are Art. Baha’u’llah taught that art is a form of worship. Just as our eyelids are so small, but can stop us from viewing the whole earth, Baha’u’llah taught that Knowledge can be the most great veil that stops us from recognizing the truth. Knowledge is not the same as a reflection of pure truth, because it is merely a collection of assumptions that we take from our own recognition of the reality around us. While your ability to display your recognitions of life, and this is art in itself, is brimming with talent…I have to wonder at the knowledge that was collected on your part that may have shut out the sight of some things for the sake of opinion. Bob Marley’s Redemption song is a beautiful piece on this very same subject. Recogintion of the truth to bring about freedom. Bob might have been offended to have his lyrics used to suggest anything other than recognizing God’s reality making us free. All that followers of God have to base their understandings of God on, are the primal points of the faiths of God. This is from those that spoke “the word of God”, such as Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, Krishna, ect. If you were to search all of these writings, God is in control, yet allows us choice. We live in a quantum universe. To suggest that God was the cause of dissention or selfishness like in your poem, has no standing with anything that is taught about God, from any of the sources of His light. Without search, and base assumption, one could take view on God that involves Tyranny. Either way, it is artistic…but is it a recognition of Reality? “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery; None but ourselves can free our minds. Have no fear for atomic energy, cause none of them can stop the time. How long shall they kill our prophets, While we stand aside and look? ooh! Some say its just a part of it: We’ve got to fulfill de book. Wont you help to sing, These songs of freedom?”-
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Thank you. I really like what you wrote.
But something you have to understand is that what I wrote is not base. By any means. See, you're taking it for what it says. The literal translation of my story. But that's not the point of it. The reason I wrote it isn't to say that God is evil, or tyranic, or forcing his will upon us. That's what it says, not what it means. I wrote this to make you think. The idea is that if you read something like this, it may trigger something in your head that will make you look at your faith, your life, your anything... and just think about it. Who knows, maybe you'll realize something about yourself that you didn't know.
The idea is that if you learn to question something that you may have been blindly following, you'll discover that it's not really you. That you don't identify with it like you thought you did. So many people today (I'm not saying all, or you, or anybody in particular) just take what's given to them, and they run with it. Ignoring personal thought and opinion. Not necesarily on purpose... they probably don't even realize it. At least, that what I see in people today. I used to live like that, but since I started really truly thinking for myself, it's been different. And it's not that I believe everything I wrote in this story. I mean, some of it is my beliefs, but by no means is it directly what I think. So don't think I'm this crazy neo-atheist activist. Although I used to consider myself an Atheist. I call it something else now, but I won't get into that.
So my goal isn't to cause any rift between you and God, but to just make you think about it. Maybe question your faith so that you can truly know if you're in it or not.
Tell me if that makes sense. If not, I'll try to explain it some other way.
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Uh-huh
Before I creep you out, this is Shelley
Sounds exactly like it would be your story. I'm not surprised, but I'm still kinda shocked, ya know? I mean I thought maybe there was a lil, tiny bit of faith in you, no? Well, either way, great job with this.
Is there symbolism behind the thirteen days, or could that be any number? Seems like symbolism...
Anywho, I definetely agree with the other comment, that it sounds like Holden, or a distant relative named Connor, haha.
In case you wanna check 'em out, I posted some poems. Like four. It's a start, but not nearly enough.
Much love,
~Shelley~
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Wow...
Look, I don't know you, but if you don't end up writing a novel or something, I'm going to beat you up, okay? Your narrator reminded me a great deal of Halden Caufield, from Catcher in the Rye ... and if I spelled his name wrong, well... it's been a long time since I've read the book. But anyway, this was amazing. Really and truly.
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Haha, that makes me so happy. I'm really glad you enjoyed. I'm sorry that it's sort of tough to read 'cause of the format and all.
But realy, thanks so much for the love, haha. I'm quite proud of this, and I'm very happy you like it.
And about writing a novel, I think that would be amazing. I'd prefer writing a poetry book, though. Although, my poetry isn't the greatest. I read this to one of my teachers, and she thinks I'm a nut, now. I also read her my screenplay called The Hitchhiker. It makes me sound like a dirty hippie stoner, haha. But I'm quite proud of both. The Hitchhiker is actually not my finalized copy. I should probably update that. Actually, I think I will right now.
Anyways, I'm super glad you liked this.
Peace and love
-----Connor
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Intriguing
You write well, I was enthralled from start to finish and you carried me along smoothly. It's an imaginitive idea and strange to me becauses I kind of started off at the end of your story in my life, doing exactly as I wanted, free to blow it all big time and have ended up being one with the Boss!
I like the idea that God knows what's going on but won't tell us, because we probably couldn't deal with it all in one go. We have to learn wisdom slowly.
There are pearls of wisdom in your story but don't make your mind up too quick eh? You might find that it's not God who tosses aside, breaks and abolishes things, that's more in our line, wouldn't you say?
Love & Peace
Georgia
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