“Mom, Dad, I am leaving.”
“To where will you go, Geoffrey?”
A man without a country, Geoffrey Kanters never felt comradery with any one place or person. He was an outsider who traveled light and held a handful of acquaintances close enough to be called friends. He did realize the power his contemporaries held, however, and forced himself to assimilate into mainstream culture for social reasons if nothing else. This assimilation was maddening for Geoffrey Kanters. Eventually he snapped. Broke.
“I am leaving for America.”
The problem, though, was that Geoffrey Kanters had no idea what America looked like. Naturally he knew about the American landmasses, the North and South. He even knew about the United States and their American dream. These places did not interest Geoffrey Kanters however because they were all too tangible. Geoffrey Kanters did not simply want to be in an America, but rather he wanted to embody America—freedom and the prospect of a good life if he worked hard enough and jumped through the right hoops.
Before Geoffrey Kanters could travel very far from his home, he saw this very eclectic woman toying around with some generational doll.
“Woman, why do you twist and turn that doll so?”
“I have seen a great many things.” She said, nervously looking around as she approached Geoffrey Kanters more closely. “I have seen geese dive to the bottom of unknown waters. I have seen water’s destructive and healing powers. I have seen small children follow a mother duck. I have seen dogs be curious and men inquisitive. I have seen my spirit rest before my very eyes.”
“Where do you see such things?”
“I know a bank where a wild Pheeb goes. And she goes to stay, to lose herself among the things she sees, and remove herself from the things that see her.”
Intrigued by the invisibility that this woman suggested, Geoffrey Kanters asked her where he might find it.
“To where are you going?” she replied.
“I’ve gone to look for America.”
In a fit of maniac laughter, the woman admonished his vision, “You will not find what you seek! For others enjoy your space just as you do. First learn to appreciate the area around you to foster a sense of peace and shelter from the world’s hardships.”
Geoffrey Kanters had no idea what to make of this odd encounter. What lessons can be learned from this? How does one receive peace and see their spirit if not through America? Suddenly depressed and sullen, Geoffrey Kanter’s boots became a little heavier but he trudged on, determined to reach his goal.
He was determined to see what the woman had seen. To do so, he thought, he would have to become one with his surroundings like she suggested. “But what does that even look like?” Geoffrey Kanters mused and mused on the subject, waiting for some sign to give him direction as he searched for America.
Geoffrey Kanters, a student of science, found the answer blowing in the wind. He noticed a small plastic bag being carried away with the wind down the shanty road he traveled. How he wished he could travel with the bag, to have no have no worries about his destination and simply go where the world wanted him to go. With the wise woman’s words in mind, Geoffrey Kanters closed his mind’s eye and tried to go to the place where the wild Pheeb goes.
After a surprisingly short amount of time, Geoffrey Kanters found himself alongside his plastic bag. But was it he? No, merely an extension of himself. He has determined that there is not much difference between him and the natural world that encompassed him. Molecularly, there is hardly any difference. The same organic molecules that make up the microbes in the soil also help Geoffrey Kanters stand against gravity. Through a cycle of life and death, his molecules would in tern help support those very same microbes. Never before had Geoffrey Kanters felt so attuned with nature that he was able to feel apart of everything and nothing at the same time. From this outside perspective he was able to both distance himself from his contemporaries and feel attune with them. This pleased Geoffrey Kanters; nature, he thought, is a powerful tool.
Geoffrey Kanters’ boots became a little heavier, but not with sullen depression. Instead, it was the connectivity to the world around him that slowed his pace. Each step warranted more time to look around and experience life, to simply be.
With this new found viewpoint he noticed a sign that he would have over looked before. It was titled “a modest proposal.” The sign advocated adopting a policy of yes, a policy of living in the present, a policy of pursuing happiness, a policy of love, a policy of enjoying small things. Still reeling from the natural high of his connectedness, Geoffrey Kanters decided to take up the sign’s challenge and live a bold life, at least for the brief future.
Always a light traveler, Geoffrey Kanters did not have much to carry. However, he was becoming increasingly less materialistic and opted to drop his small pack and head into town to see if this sign’s advice could help him find America. With no obligations to fulfill any longer and no pack to weigh him down, Geoffrey Kanters was free to see the world through a new lens. He noticed the gait of people’s walks, how the busy ones were often quicker and accompanied with a scowled face. He noticed that the ones who seemed the happiest were embraced in warmth and friendship and simply subsisting in the world around them, not worrying about events beyond their reach.
Geoffrey Kanters realized that he was not unlike these furrowed businessmen with quick gaits and leather satchels, for he too was yearning for an intangible idealistic promise in his search for America. He was so preoccupied with his search that he forgot to enjoy the small things that make up larger good things.
As Geoffrey Kanters’ boots became even heavier still, almost to the point that it was difficult to walk, he decided to sit at a local café and think about the events he has experienced that day.
He had been sitting his table looking into a seemingly endless cup of tea for all of eight minutes before someone sat down with him. Unbeknownst to Geoffrey Kanters, this man was a local legend, a man of great insight.
“What troubles you, young man?”
“And just who might you be, old man?”
“My name is Hansliton, child, and I have come to offer you something.” Upon hearing the legend’s name spoken Geoffrey Kanters was appauled at himself for his uncharacteristic response.
“I am sorry, sir. It’s just that I am learning that my life is not what it seems; my passions are not as fruitful as they once were, and I am lost on my quest to find America. I am lost.”
“Geoffrey, let me tell you about my farming experience. Perhaps you will find it useful. Have you ever spent much time weeding? No? Well there is this type of plant that grows and grows. In the winter it seems to be dead and lifeless above ground. Its stalks are brown and wilted. Most people do away with this ugly shrub and tear its dendrites from the ground. However, what these farmers fail to realize is that this is not where the life in the plant is. The root’s icy tips hold all that is needed for the plant to grow. When holding these roots, you can almost feel the energy of the plant. You can feel the root trying to stab deeper into the ground to solidify its hold on the world.
Geoffrey, true happiness does not come from ripping up that which is ugly in your life, only pursuing your passion will do that.”
Geoffrey Kanters thought and thought and thought. Hansliton was so knowledable about such things as life. Trying to apply the story to his own experience, Geoffrey Kanters realized that his general dissatisfaction with his contemporaries and life was like this brown plant. He was trying to remove it from his sight and leave it behind for good. He thought his life was dead and fruitless with these discomforts in it. That’s what catalyzed his search for America in the first place.
He also came to understand why his search has been largely unsatisfying. Instead of pursuing a fantastical goal, Geoffrey Kanters decided to get to the root of it. If he was truly passionate about finding America, he shouldn’t be running away from his past, but rather living by the source of its energy and growing from the root.
With boots feeling much lighter, Geoffrey Kanters turned around and headed home. His experiences today told him that living in the moment and enjoying life’s simple idiosyncrasies is one way to find peace in this world, and that way is also something that Geoffrey Kanters is passionate about.
Sometimes an ideal is just that, a model to look at and apply to your own life. Geoffrey Kanters did not need to search for America any more, because he had always known where to find it.
“Mom, Dad, I am home.”