This planet was always so strange to him. He found it difficult to acclimate to their customs and social propensities. In many ways he felt very foreign, not in culture necessarily but in nature of being. This planet was strange indeed.
Harmon knew this all to be in his mind. He was native to this planet; of course he was. This was clear as there was no other life out there, according to some, and others that did believe had no discernible proof whatsoever.
This, then, led him to the belief he may be just a little crazy or at least somewhat neurotic with regard to his thoughts on life in general.
All his life inconsistencies in society were glaring and undeniably insane. Its history was fraught with them. "But that's the way life is," his grandfather would say when Harmon broached the subject.
"Just because that's the way it is doesn't make it right!" he would counter.
His grandfather would sit in his rocking chair on the porch and, as he slowly rocked, offered his many years of wisdom. "You can't change how people are, Harmon. They are the way they are. Humanity is the way it is. People are never going to change," he said matter-of-fact. He would rock a little more and dispense more pearls of wisdom. It was as if he needed to rock after each dispensing to prime the pump to the fountain of wisdom once more. "Many great men have seen wrongs and tried to right them. Some succeeded, most didn't. Sometimes people will listen, most times they won't," said the all-knowing grandfather sitting in his pump of wisdom.
Not having learned much through these little visits with the family oracle, he enjoyed his grandfather's company very much as he was quite the character and Harmon loved him for that.
The trouble with Harmon was not his level of understanding of what, he thought, was simple observation, rather other's lack of it. He had difficulty with the baser instincts of man. The greed, the quest for power over others, their obvious need for control. To Harmon these were quite simple to spot and he noticed others spotted them as well but had not the power to change or prevent them. Their view of the world was so small, so limited and frankly, in many instances, puerile.
How could one not see that these baser elements gained their power from lack of self-worth, self-confidence and one's own disbelief in their abilities. It stands to reason that the less one thinks of one's self and their competence level is in direct proportion to their want to control another's free will whether overtly or covertly. The degree of control is in direct proportion to their own confidence of creation of effect. How could this not be noticed? he would often think to himself. He is frequently frustrated with the lower level of cognitive abilities. These abilities that, he believed and hoped, will one day be eradicated by the ongoing evolution of Man. Yet, he sees the general population as not warlike and is rather empathetic and compassionate, even with their narrow view of existence. He has often wondered why he feels the anomaly in this potpourri of civilization. Why is he different? How is it he can see recognition of such simplicities gone awry? Why is he special?
Having to confront the fact that, beyond these rather obvious shortcomings of society, he had his own unusual abilities to contend with. Precognition for one. It was not a constant but it was definitely extant. He was quite sensitive to another's feelings. With this ability he could actually share in what the other person was feeling and in many cases he could pick up on their thoughts. Not mind reading per se but a viewing of pictures in someone's mind. While these abilities did exist he could command little control over them. They would appear unexpectedly and their intensity would vary as well. He even noticed in extreme case of emergency the definite bending or slowing of time and the material universe seemed to obey his will. Slight and rare as these effects may have been, they were there and he did make note of them. He attempted to create these phenomena at will many times but control seemed elusive. There was yet one more potentially disturbing experience; the sensation of separation of his awareness from corporeal form. Out of body experience it is called here and it is a subject best left unmentioned. It seems to be a rather charged subject from one extreme to the other within the general population. Accepted as natural law in some cultures and vilified in others. He would do well to just keep this in his own mind along with all other non-conventional thoughts. How wonderful it would be if I could communicate with others about such things. he would think on occasion.
Now at age seventeen, he had been ostracized from early on by peers and strangers alike. His parents have been the most supportive of him and his genius along with his troubled mind. Never prone to disparage, they have been a solid foundation and source of personal comfort. They actually treated him as normal! He had yet to figure that one out.
Taking long walks in the woods allowed him time alone with his own thoughts. He found this too was an anomaly as most people were not very comfortable being alone for long periods. Harmon relished every moment. In fact, it was preferred.
This was time well spent. He would reflect upon that which he had recently observed and attempted to fit it into a sane context. This was the reason his walks were long. Sometimes a sane context took some doing.
Most days he would avoid any well traveled paths but today he figured he would take it easy and walk the path. It wasn't long before he started to see others along the path. He happened to glimpse a man standing to his right in a small clearing. It was odd as the man just stood there. He was not doing anything or looking at any thing, just stood there. Curiosity got the better of him so he headed toward the standing man.
As he approached the man noticed him and watched. He did not move as he stood in an odd manner.
The man before him was of average build and possessed nondescript features. He had a kind face and demeanor and carried an air of keen awareness about him with a combined sense of calm and certainty. "Hello, Harmon," he said pleasant.
Harmon searched his memory for any data regarding this man who addressed him in the familiar. He found none. "Do I know you?" he asked.
"Not in the corporeal sense," he said.
Now on guard as this was not a statement that is usually spoken without a hint of humor. This man was not being humorous in any way. He was quite serious. So he was crazy or something much more than what or who he appeared to be. Harmon chose the crazy route as the man was standing in the middle of the woods and seemed a little out of place. "Okay, buddy. Good one. I'll see you later. You have a good day now," he said as he turned to leave.
Before he finished his first step, the man spoke. "So how are you handling things in this society where your intellect obviously outweighs the above average person? I'll bet it's been quite difficult at times. Makes you feel a bit foreign, doesn't it? Almost like you don't quite belong, or that you're some anomalous freak of nature. Bringing yourself down to the level of instinctual thought and action. A constant fight within, a constant questioning of your own sanity? Making most days a challenge. How am I doing so far?"
His mind raced as his body froze. After a brief bout of processing he managed to free his stiffened muscles and turned to look at the nondescript man who only stood there, quiet—relaxed, with a look of understanding in his eyes and tried to process how anyone could know his plight on this silly little planet. This unknown man described with pinpoint accuracy his daily thought process. But how? How did he know? How could he know? he thought. He stood for what seemed like an eternity as he stared into the man's eyes and seemed to penetrate their superficial layer as he was now in the man's mind as he viewed and experienced a lifetime—many lifetimes of thoughts, emotions and experiences. All in a split second. He now knew this man, he knew his life—all of it! The joys, sorrows, great accomplishments and heavy losses. It was uncontrollable as he became enthralled and could see everything yet wanted more. Lost in a mind of infinite wonder and knowledge was like swimming in a warmth of confidence and unbound knowledge, it was familiar and comforting. Harmon was soon pulled free as the man gently grabbed and shook his shoulders breaking his reverie. The man looked into Harmon's eyes. "You understand now, yes?" he queried.
A moment to collect his thoughts, "I do. I do understand!" he exclaimed.
"Then you are ready," said the man.
"Ready? Ready for what?" asked Harmon.
A gentle smile crossed the man's face. "To fulfill your destiny of course," he said with certainty.
"Destiny? I'm sorry I don't believe in such superstition. My destiny is what I make it. There is no predetermination of life," replied Harmon.
The man's smile grew as he listened to young Harmon. "You are correct in that self-determinism has ultimate power. But we have set a path for you many years ago and now give you the opportunity to chose whether to fulfill or not that destiny," he informed.
With a display of anger and resentment he attacked. "You've been manipulating my life from the very beginning to serve your needs? Is this what you're telling me? I'm a pawn to—whatever you are?" he said with disdain at this being's arrogance.
The man's demeanor changed to that of concern. "No Harmon. It is not only us who have made this decision. In fact it was you who offered this very idea," he informed politely.
Now skeptical. "You're saying this was all my decision?" asked Harmon.
In a solemn manner, the man explained. "Yes, I am. You have seen in my mind and should know that we are not of any planet or even this material universe," he paused to allow Harmon to catch up to these rather new concepts. He was indeed not of this or any planet and knew this but in his current state of mind denied his true nature—by choice. "This grand experiment was of your own doing. You see, all life comes from us. We are the animators of the material universe. This we know. We also know any sentient being is as we are. They are just trapped in the belief they are not. We tried to lead them from this constant misery and only made matters worse. They fell deeper into the trap. They were once like us but for some reason they found no pleasure in this state of being so they began a game—a game of let's forget. They assumed the roles of a lesser state and decided to forget so they might remain there. The cycle of forgetting has continued for so long they became trapped within their own game. You devised a plan wherein you would assume a form and play the game so as to better understand the trap and how to release those from it. This is why you are here. This is why you must now return and use what you have gathered so we can continue our quest to free those from their own enslavement. If we do not succeed they will continue for an eternity of entrapment. Born to a new body with no memory of the previous and they will become less and less with each new cycle."
A thoughtful look crossed Harmon's face. "And once they are so diminished they will die?" he asked with concern.
"There is no death. that is a physical universe concept. There is no time in our realm, there is no matter, there only is awareness, thought and decision."
"In my current state I can see how that sounds boring, actually. But they were in a higher state when they decided to do this," said Harmon
"Yes, they felt they had no game as they could have any game. There was no challenge, as they saw it," said the man.
Harmon looked inquisitive. "How many made this decision to enter this trap?"
"Unknown. The entire universe is filled with them and the universe is infinite," he said with a hint of sadness.
"Wow, that's a little much for me to comprehend in this current state of mine."
"And that's what we are looking for! That viewpoint! We need to better understand. To us, we can create, at will, anything we wish. We play games that would astound those that are unaware. Our brethren are trapped and they need at least the choice to be free. The only way to do that is to raise them to a point to where they can glimpse their potential," he paused then continued, "You believe these people are evolving and just need to allow enough time to become more. In fact, with more time they are devolving more into the material," he said with concern.
He gathered his thoughts and said, "There was a belief on this planet many generations ago that the living of more than one life was a fact. This concept has been discounted for some time. The concept lingers but seems to be in the minority."
"This is the trap. It seems those who are deep in the trap will actively pull more down with them and remain in the game. I suppose they, in actuality, have achieved their goal. They no longer have no game. They are also but a shadow of their true selves," explained the man
"This is much to take in," said Harmon pensive.
"The burdens of the material hinder your abilities. This is part of the process of learning. But the question is; are you ready?" asked the man.
A flood of thoughts and memories raced through his mind. The people he had known and the places he had been. He then began to interject and align his perspective of what the man explained to him. No longer did he consider all these people as people, he saw them as lost beings, trapped for an indeterminate time in a cycle after cycle of a rather meaningless existence. Inhabitants of a material body that would experience pleasure and pain yet a being who existed to only animate and control a body for mere decades only to have it die. What were a few decades compared to an eternity? This appeared nonsensical as opposed to an existence of eternal life and awareness without the burden of the corporeal. An ability to create any game on such an advanced level—their current awareness could not conceive. That was lower level existence and the more he considered it, the more it seemed unappealing—distasteful in some respects. As he recalled his short time on this planet, his memory of who and what he truly was returned. He could now remember his decision to take on this task of material existence for the sole purpose of elimination of the endless unintended cycle.
"Yes, I'm ready," he said to the man.
The End
art source: pic
