Chapter One –
Your Papers Please

For the first time in recorded history humans are experiencing a definable retrogression. Technical advances have minimized the very fabric of how we sense, feel, absorb, react to and internalize that which emanates from nature and with humans being a central part of that nature. We are infinite resolution creatures. Yet for the purposes of civilization, mathematical sensibilities are put in place to structure communities with accountability and order. It could be argued that those structures are more than partly responsible for the advanced evolution of our species, as they receive the lion’s share of the credit and are by their nature definable, measureable and quantifiable in obvious ways; mostly by persons who are predisposed to those skill sets.

From the opposite side there are the intuitive broad spectrum and instinctual components of our being. These are the facets which go beyond the currently definable, measureable and for certain, the quantifiable; all of which the recognition of is either subconsciously or intentionally devalued in comparison to that which can be quantified. It is of no surprise that the more advanced “knowledge” in quantifiable studies becomes a social status, the further into irrelevance that which is not countable falls. As the balance increases its tilt, the more primitive we as a civilization become.

A day doesn’t go by when I don’t come in contact in some way with someone touting credentials; be they academic, monetary, physical attributes, wins, votes, followers, subscribers, likes and so and so on. As a species we seem obsessed with separating ourselves from the pack with a certificate, medal or award that we place on anything we possess that another person may view. It is what appears to be an inner desire to make ourselves the most important and consequently most desirable person in the room. On the other hand, for those of us with either the humility or lack of self-confidence, abilities or even god given attributes, the mere association with “greatness” is an acceptable and often desired alternative. That leads to masses of fans that live vicariously through the lives of their chosen inspiration. Their presence inspires us in a way that we can imagine our life through the lens of someone else’s perceived existence.

Then there are those of us on their own path to greatness, aligning with whom they choose to emulate for the benefit of grasping knowledge and/or insights and then adding their own personal experiences to gain further ground. The common thread here is that we are all searching for validation among our peers, our loved ones, our God …or more importantly ourselves.

Why is that?

I have no formal education outside of a high school diploma from a relatively low scoring school system in a very much lower middle class city. That along with a few college level courses in various financial and technical subjects. The neighborhood I grew up in had a variety of races, cultures and religions, but all from a similar social class; lower-middle to lower. Some of the kids I knew went on to ac