Accumulation of material is what many feel they need to better their lives instead of understanding the quality of life is stronger than the quantity of life. Jon Marx, a handsome young professional school administrator, has worked hard to amass material items of which he thinks will bring him that purpose we seek in life. Once Jon has reached his goals in life such as career, home, relationship, and prestige, he finds that it is not all that it seems to be, and that happiness is far from a touch away. On his way to work one beautifully sunny morning on Highway 23, Jon misses his exit and continues to drive for no apparent reason, hearing his tires strike the lines in the weathered road. Not thinking of the person he is leaving behind nor the objects he owns, he drives till he can't drive anymore. Mentally tired, lost, and miles away from the place he considered home, Jon discovers a small town where the people don't own much but they are happy. Jon has searched his whole life to find the secret to happiness and sees it in the meager homes, simple lifestyles and the natural surroundings. With the absence of material and/or possessions, Jon discovers his Clarity of Absence. This journey into the man's soul is a detailed, deeply moving, and often humorous look into the sensitive side of a contemporary metro-sexual's odyssey through life, love, desire, passion, and his ability to reach that place many of us seek: Enlightenment.
Clarity of Absence
By Rajah E. SmartAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2009 Rajah E. Smart
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4389-8249-6Chapter One
As people, we seek to find the meaning of life. In America, you are made to believe in the "American Dream," which loosely translated is the accumulation of things, wealth or materials. There's nothing wrong with that; however, when materials make you lose sight of what life truly represents, then it's easier to lose sight of a phenomenon we call happiness. Happiness is what many of us search for in our lives from day to day. What happens when you have accumulated all that you can and you are still unhappy? That is a question; yet to be answered by our friend Jon Marx.
Jon sits upon his modest two-bedroom cottage home porch that's nestled in the middle of nowhere, thinking about how things used to be. At the age of 34, Jon doesn't have a lot of possessions, nor does he want them. With a snifter of warm brandy in his hand swirling in a circular motion, sweetened ever so slightly, he glares at the sun as it touches his brow, and radiates trees, grass slivers, and the rocks on the dirt road in front of his driveway. As he looks out, Bobby Bradley passes by on his motorcycle and waves at him as bikers do. Throwing up his hand to wave, the chilly breeze sneaks by his body, prompting him to partake in his warm glass of brandy. So lost in the beauty of what surrounds him, Jon couldn't hear Bobby's tires crunch the rocks beneath his jalopy of a motorcycle. The dust spreads throughout the blue sky. As he passes, Jon began to think about the city, and how life used to be: The murkiness of the sky, the selfish people, and the hustle and bustle of daily life. The city offered so much in culture and life, but Jon often noticed what he called the complete disregard for life and true happiness.
As a man with fair skin, handsome features, and a personable personality, he felt placed in this category of who or what he was supposed to be. Life is defined for us by grouping people within gender, color, beauty, and class. A man seemingly has no real challenges in life; yet, there are pressures that surround them everyday. Add in the class, prejudices, jealousies, and pettiness, life becomes survival of the fittest, especially if you don't fit. A crossroads had been approached and Jon was at a loss. Why? Jon was unsure of his future as a man, but more concerned about life in the future. He had become a successful administrator for the local school system making a great living, finally met the woman of his dreams, purchased all the materials he thought he needed, which should make him happy, but at the end of it all, he was very unhappy. Life gave Jon this battle where he struggled with a career that was there, but nonexistent, a love life that failed every time the sun came up, and a struggle with whether he fits the mold of being what is called "a man." Jon honestly doesn't care about affiliations with people. He cares more for the relationships shared with people in general, no matter their racial or financial affiliations. Nonetheless, it still bothers him as to why he can't just be a man. After reminding himself of that life, he then shakes it off and reminds himself of where he is now.
People think of Jon as a great guy, but often believe he's lonely; however, he always tells them, "The trees talk to me every time the wind blows and they talk better than you all do." He often times gets a big chuckle out of that and believes what he's saying. His motto is "I can't stand people who talk too much. It gives me a headache."
As the back of his head lays upon the head of the old wooden chair he purchased from Ms. Oliver, Jon closes his eyes and listens closely to the sounds around him. He does this so much that he can decipher each sound: the birds speaking to one another; the leaves rustle to fight the wind, vehicles moving upon distant roads, the insects performing their daily duties, the long grass in the distance speaking clearly, and the screen door move as it responds to the breeze. In his white house trimmed in brown, with old style wooden shutters, two picture windows in the front, Jon feels he can watch television or nature all day from his home. He calls it "Free HDTV."
Settling in, he hears Bobby Bradley again, a young kid about 16 ready to graduate from high school, coming up the dirt road on that black bike. Jon knows it's him because no one else is crazy enough to fly up the road like that, especially on a motorbike. For all intensive purposes, it's a motorcycle, but it looks like somebody beat the motor on it, tied it to the back of a car and dragged it some miles. Armed with no helmet, tinted shades, tight blue jeans and black shirt, he comes flying up the road and slows to a crawl to pull up Jon's long driveway for a spell. As the dust clears, Bobby drops the kickstand on his motorcycle and pulls the darkened, battered shades off. Bobby has always been interested in Jon since he first arrived in town. He knew Jon was a city guy and wanted to get out of this forsaken town to see the city. So, he comes over sometimes to hear Jon talk of the city life or what Bobby calls "The Big Money Phase." Bobby is a young pale kid, very smart, full of life, and open minded. He jogs up to the porch to slap Jon's hands two times and salute him like normal. "What's going on Mr. Marx? You ready for my daily dose?" With a huge grin on his face, Jon is always happy to give Bobby some entertainment. However, today was a little different as Bobby began to pry more about where Jon came from, his family, friends, and how he ended up in the country. "Well, Bobby, you call your family and let them know where you are and I'll tell you." Bobby was already prepared to listen as he told Jon excitedly, "They already knew I was coming down here to see you so let's hear it." Jon sat back in his chair to share his life story with Bobby, even though he didn't think it was that interesting. But sometimes everyone has a story to tell and Jon had one heck of way of telling it.
Chapter Two
Jon sits upon the porch speaking of the morning he awoke as he normally did to that alarm that sounds like a screaming banshee. Jon begins to formulate the thoughts in his mind and tell the story as if he was still there. Everyday before Jon left for work, he spoke to himself in his mind as motivation for the day. The discontentment had found a place in his heart and mind on this particular day he spoke with Bobby about. As his eyes open, the streaming thoughts set the stage for the scene spoken in his own words. The brightness of the day was similar to the day he left his old life.
This early morning displayed its redundancy as usual with that bird that makes this distinctive noise that he never figured out. It's a distinctive high-pitched morning noise, but Jon never took the time to figure out the name of the bird, where it comes from, and why it does that. Should he have done that? For Jon, it's a reminder that he never took the time to enjoy anything. The sun shines through the white blinds onto his face. He held his hand high to block the beams of light. Those soft white high thread count sheets surround his body, feeling crisp as he turns to avoid the rays of light. The comforter that she spent so much time picking out falls to the floor. "Never liked that burgundy look anyway," he says to himself. Bobby interrupts a moment to inquire as to "who" the "she" is that Jon refers to in the story. "She refers to Simone, my fianc that I left behind."
"Wow, you left a woman behind. Isn't that kind of cold?"...
