Honestly, we know nothing.

I am a strong pursuer in the betterment of myself and my surroundings. I am obsessed with being the best I can possibly be. On my search for perfection, I have found some truly extraordinary things. First off, our perception of reality is warped. We trust the information that has been passed onto us and we accept it fully as correct. Whether this be out of laziness or ignorance or social acceptance, it doesn't matter. We still accept it. Why don't we fly off the planet? Oh, because of Einstein's laws of gravity. But we can't prove gravity. It's just a theory. Do you personally know? No, of course not. It's an absolute mystery. One more thing, did you know that there are people in this world that believe the Earth is hollow and made up of columns that lead to a hidden society underground? We can't even prove them wrong because we haven't gone to the center of the Earth before. We just disregard this as insanity because our "laws" tell us that the Earth is made up of molten lava that circulates, which creates a suction, if you will, that creates Earth's gravitational pull. Throughout history, we have tried to logically explain all of Earth's mysteries without really knowing what we're talking about. Life cannot be logically explained. If our brains have come up with some type of answer for life that makes sense to us, it's probably incorrect. Our brains cannot process the magnitude of life. Just as we cannot fathom the depths of the universe. It's like a 5 year old trying to understand what it's like to be 90 years old. They can't. They can see a 90 year old, talk to them, know them, even try to be like them. But they will never truly understand what it's like until they are 90 years old. This post has really no point other than to make you question what you accept and believe without reason. If you believe in something, and truly believe in it, you better have a good reason to do so or else it can be easily manipulated. Our beliefs are incredibly strong and important. Just know why you believe in something. It will strengthen your soul to know why you commit yourself to ideas or others beliefs. Don't just think. The only difference between knowledge and wisdom is that wisdom is just applied knowledge. Wisdom is knowledge in action. Be careful with what you have faith in.

Goals

I recently read a quote that said, 'If you don't plan your life, someone else will for you." And that got me thinking, what are my plans? What do I intend on doing with my life? I have answered these questions plenty of times but only in mind. Never on paper, I never wrote down a step by step list on how I would attain these goals. So, I sat down, armed only with pen and paper and began to write out my ladder to my own personal view on success. It made me realize how I could take small steps towards my goals each day, which is great. I truly feel accomplished knowing I took a step forward with my future. It's such a good feeling that I decided to share it. I encourage any of you who haven't done this to take that first step towards your future. Start big, with only the big picture stuff in mind. Who do you want to be, how do you want to look, how do you carry yourself, what will your profession be, when will you get there, where will you be and why do you want to do/look/be that way? Then work down from there, from personal, to health, to professional, everything must be analyzed. Say you want to be healthier, look healthier physically, then that would be a big picture goal. Eating an apple everyday would be a small picture idea. It's still a step forward, with the big picture in mind. Regulating your life and planning your time will only help. Try it before you knock it.

-Ace

The Alternating Senses

As we grow older, we learn. It's inevitable that our experiences will undoubtedly teach us more about ourselves and our environments. It's crucial for us to grow, but we shouldn't forget where we come from. It's an important exercise to remember what being a child was like. If you can't remember that, then spend some time with kids. As humans, we have a craving to discover the unknown, it's always been that way. Unfortunately, because of that reason, we are losing more of life's mystery. Life NEEDS mystery in order to fascinate, inspire and create. As we grow older we tend to define and judge everything around us and I am beginning to realize the cause and effect this has. It's come to the point where we are uncomfortable if we're staring into the unknown. Kids don't have that type of experience yet and to be honest, we don't either. We just think and assume that what we know is right. I implore you to assume you know nothing about your environment or the world. If you were to walk through a fresh garden during spring time after every flower had began to bloom, what would you see? Flowers, right? What you're missing is life's beauty and perfection. We can name each flower, we know why it's in bloom, and how to do it ourselves. In fact, it's not even that difficult. That's the problem. We aren't really seeing whats in front of us. We are letting our minds analyze and interpret our surroundings for us. The mind is an incredibly useful tool but it is horrible at Seeing, Feeling, Hearing, Smelling and Sensing. It is not the brains responsibility for those sensations. Get in tune with your other senses and realize that they are just as important. The Earth will open itself up to those who appreciate her.

Journey with the Ronin of light (Part 1)

This is a short story I wrote, just wanted some feedback to see what you all think. Thanks for the help guys!

~Ace

I began to collect my thoughts, I tightened my grip on the hilt of my sword and took a deep breathe.  In front of me my opponent stood beneath the faint moonlight. He was a massive creature, with no facial features. From a distance they almost looked like men, but their movements gave them away. They moved with the shadows, gliding over complete emptiness. I hated every part of these damned creatures.

 My shirt was torn, my hair ran through my eyes and the mark his blade left bled from my shoulder. This is not how I wanted things to go.
Rain began to pour from the heavens. Our eyes met and I rose to my feet. Rage boiled inside my heart but I had to keep a cool head. Emotions get you killed in this world. I focused on my next move and began to see the blade cutting through this creature in my mind's eye. But before I could execute my perfect attack, my opponent lunged forward, his sword high, ready to end this fight. I was more than ready. He thought because he was larger than I was that he posed some type of threat to me. The fool. All samurai knew that the only true power comes from the heart. But this thing was no samurai. I would show him just how strong my heart  really was and these creatures will learn to fear that strength.

In an instant, his blade came down my center. I side stepped against the blade and sliced through his abdomen, in one motion I turned back to face him. You would think a blow like that would end any man's life and normally you would be correct, but these were much darker times than you have endured. These creatures came from shadow. They had no remorse, no compassion, no heart. I watched the beast smirk as black smoke began to seep through the cut I had just made. Once again, rage began to swell inside of me, an ever growing fire that was howling for the end of this creature. I would not control my anger this time. I leapt into the air with a shout and cut through it again.

Instead of black smoke coming from the wound, light began to stream from it like a small river. Now the creature wasn't smirking. Now, it was my turn to smile as the creature became a ball of light and vanished. I don't really understand why I have this power, no one I have ever crossed could defeat these beasts. I'm not even the strongest swordsman. I have only practiced this art for 18 years, from the time I was 6 years old. There are masters that have been perfecting this art their entire lives that would put my skill to shame in seconds, my father among them. I tried not to question why I was the only one who could eradicate this darkness from our lands but I would find out why. There had to be a reason, there was always a reason, always a purpose behind every action... Right?

 It has always been in my nature to be curious. I have lived as a ronin for quite some time, it's the simple life I have always wanted. Traveling from place to place, practicing my martial art under waterfalls, on mountain tops, and deserts, experiencing life and nature was who I was.  I have always been content with my life and myself but unfortunately, that time was over. Now, I lived in a state of constant attack. I didn't rest, I didn't have companions or loved ones here, the only real things to me now is the heart in my chest and the blade in my hand. That is all I needed and all I could rely on anymore. 

Darkness was seizing our lands, taking everything we held most dear. But I knew light still existed. It had to. Darkness cannot exist without light and I would find that light and restore the balance of this place by any means necessary. The rain began to harden. It cleansed my skin. I looked up into the dark sky, took a deep breathe and let the water run through me. Even this awful time had it's benefits. Even now, balance could still be found. That helped.  I sheathed my sword, picked up my pack, and headed towards the faint light of the moon. A glimmer of that light was all I needed, just a small glimmer of hope and I would give myself to it completely, with arms wide open.

The Invisible Walls

There are days that I wake up, sit myself up against my wall and spend some time watching my salamander explore his cage. After a few minutes I feel some sort of connection with Zenna. I begin to sympathize with her, yet she’s just a salamander… In fact, some of you might say that she is better off in that cage than being out in the wild. I beg to differ.

I’ll admit that she has cleaner water, more food availability, absolutely no predators, and plenty of space to roam around. Yet, her life is completely in the hands of someone other than her own. Her freedom is gone. Her life confined by four invisible walls. Maybe she has everything she wants, but without the freedom to do what she wants, her life is left uncompleted.

Now, I realize she is just a salamander. These feelings that I receive, transcendent of her, don’t even cross her mind. Yet, they are still produced. Why would I feel this way when I have given her everything she has ever needed? In the brief time that I sit, watching her clime the falls or hide away in her rock cave, It becomes clear that these feelings are none but my own.

Sometimes I feel that even though I have everything I need at the moment, my life is incomplete; in other words, my life is not my own. We live in a world surrounded by these invisible walls, whether they are social or personal. They ultimately have control over our thoughts and actions and even determine the fate of our lives. So how do we gain control of our life? How do we break these walls and free ourselves to be who we really are? This question can only be answered by you and no one else.

I believe we all need to look deep inside ourselves to find what is real and what is not. We must not fear the abstract or obscure. We must be free to express our feelings and emotions eve against other’s disapproval.

Zenna may only be a salamander, but I see the angst with every press against those walls. With every push I see life making way for improvement and betterment. We can learn a lot from all of nature’s wonders, but only if we are willing.

Jordy 

The Balance

No one ever sees themselves as the "bad guy". We allow ourselves to think that we are in the right because we understand why we made certain choices with our lives, but that's not necessarily the truth. It is crucial to be honest with yourself, to learn from certain experiences instead of just blocking them out or pushing them out of your mind. You need to be real with yourself and everyone around you. That is the only way you can really grow as an individual. If you want to better yourself, you have to know your flaws. No one knows you as well as you know you! With that said, I am currently trying to find the wrongs I've committed in my life. "What man is a man who does not make the world better?"  We must take this responsibility seriously. Our lives are much greater than we can understand. We can't comprehend the impact we have on our planet, our homes, or each other. Have respect for that ignorance. We are all going to make mistakes, hurt the ones we love, and be ashamed of certain choices, but that by no bounds means that you should give up. There are very few exceptions when it comes to quitting. As a society we have gotten so used to being able to quit something we don't like or something that is too difficult. One of my favorite quotes says; "If I was dropped out a plane, into the ocean and told the nearest land was 1,000 miles away, I'd still swim. And I would despise the man that gave up." To me, that quote says it all. For the majority of us, our lives are no longer about survival. If we lose our jobs, our families, our homes, we are still alive. It isn't about life or death for us. Which is why I encourage all of you to act as if your life depends on your choices. We have all heard the famous quote; "Live today as if there was no tomorrow." But the majority of us have no idea what that truly means because we don't appreciate our lives in that way. I mean, be real with yourself, how often do you wake up smiling just because you woke up? Just because it's a new day with unlimited potential? We don't. We wake up dreading going to work, wanting to sleep more, hating our alarm clocks and it's pathetic. Don't allow yourself to be so weak. When you are faced with a challenge, fight it! It's an obstacle that you're going to learn from. Hardships can be a beautiful thing with the right attitude. Throughout my entire life I felt like a zombie. I was just going through the motions of my life because it was just repetition, repetition, repetition. I made it that way not knowing there was a different path. Hopefully this opens your eyes a little more because I can guarantee that a small group of you know exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not saying I wake up every morning jumping for joy now, everyone has their off days. But I am damn happy to be alive. My energy, my attitude, is an explosion of happiness. I choose to be happy because I now know how to. I would love it if you could just read this article and immediately feel happy, but it doesn't work that way. I am so happy now because I was so miserable for the past few years. I have found the balance in my life. But I paid a heavy price to feel this way. Through unhealthy relationships, mental breakdowns, and a feeling of loneliness that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy, I have come to find myself. A large part of me has died and been reborn through the ashes. Through understanding your life, loving who you are, you will find that being happy is quite easy. Just be willing to fight for your happiness. Be willing to endure pain for glory. You all have the ability to share, spread and create love. So choose to be the person you know you can be! I have faith in every one of you and I wish you all luck on your journey. 


- Ace

The Information Age

Do you remember when computers were first being put in homes? Do you remember when you got your first cell phone? In June of 2010 it was estimated that there are now 292.8 million wireless cell phone subscriptions, just in the U.S. There is also over 1 billion active facebook users online as well (although we must account for fake accounts as well). We are living in a time where technology is completely immersed in our way of life. We have made technology our tools for work, school, entertainment, socializing and even fighting. We use technology to communicate, to clean, to see and to share ideas. There is no denying that we live in a technological era.

With this quick-paced change in our society, we must also adapt fairly quickly. It seems like a large number of problems have arisen from this change—such as hyperactive disorders, obesity, asocial behavior, technological dependence. So how do we combat such a large and gripping change? Like we always have. As humans we have to think critically for ourselves and for others. We have to look at the reality of what things are and think: is this necessary? How many times have I been on Facebook today? Why do I keep checking my phone? Is this really who this person is? Is any of this important to me? These are just a few questions that I have personally asked myself and have realized how subconsciously I am attached to these social sites or entertainment sites.

A possible obstacle we might face is staying attached to our roots. As intelligent and advance as a civilization we might be, we are still organisms. We are a part of an ecosystem and we to make sure our actions won’t artificially influence this ecosystem. Another obstacle we might face is that of being technologically dependent. We have already begun to rely on technology heavily. So what can we do to keep this, just like any other aspect of our life, in balance?

Just some quick ideas I thought of was the very simplistic and beautiful art of gardening. Let’s plant trees! The world can always use more trees and there are a bunch of different kinds out there that will fit your living conditions. Riding bikes is a past time and shouldn’t be forgotten. It’s not painstakingly challenging and it’s a good way to workout. Go on a hike, read a REAL book, build something, strike up a conversation with a stranger. There are so many ways we can keep in touch with our true selves and all it takes is a little effort.

I hope you enjoyed this piece and would love some feedback. I would also love to hear your ideas about ways we can stay connected and keep a technological balance in our lives. As always take it easy and feel free to speak to me or Adam at any time!

Peace,

Jordy