A birthday is not just a new beginning, but signifies an ending as well. The legacy of an older self to the current one, and one that carries to the self yet unrealised.
I would like to start by extending my gratitude for those worthy of it: if you are capable of reading this then you know that includes you. Whether you are my disciple, among my peers, or if you are my sole Platinum-Class benefactor, I’m grateful we made it this far…
My life has thus far been atypical and interesting, full of greater hardships than most, and filled with greater rewards than many. Whether is be in ability or affinity, wealth or rarities, I have been gifted strength, intellect, humility, illustrious experiences, true friends, sapid lovers, and ceaseless opportunities to develop my power. Truly, with regard to fortune and misfortunes, I have been granted a blessed existence that merits envy [from others] and contentment [from me].
I have accomplished so many accomplishments,
Achieved so many achievements,
Done so many doings and said so many sayings, that it all lost meaning without becoming meaningless.
But ultimately, we live only one life, albeit one that contained a myriad of chapters, and one where I wore a panoply of faces.
I did not succumb to perniciousness, and despite the occasional obloquy, I refrained from indulging in enmities. While I did enjoy obfuscating, any accusations of sinister intent was nugatory [for the most part].
Admittedly, Deception and Subterfuge were necessary for my survival, learned as I crawled and mastered when I could walk and talk- it is not a way of living, but more akin to a necessity of surviving. Morally, can we fault however people may cling to life? Even to this day, few have seen my true face, and even then, they would not be able to understand what they witnessed. Yet, I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Having forged poignant alliances with heroic peers, and conquered the sinfluence of evil contemporaries, I daresay that I have remained true to my Superior Way.
I wore the guises of:
The Boy Prodigy {Renaissance Man}
The Superman Incarnate
The Guardian offering counsel/healing
The Eccentric challenging Social Mores
The Master of a Wuxia Sect
The Intellectual English Gentleman
The ‘Humble’ Tradesman/Servant
The Mystery Man(?) of Unknown Affairs
The [Super]Villainous Antithesis
The Simulacrum desiring to know Humanity.
Every interaction has fallen into a subset of these 10 primary archetypes. All part of a ritual designed decades ago that allows me to combine the Factorial 10!, and unlock a hidden class: The Sage Who transcends Zero & Infinity. I had thought of “Great Sage Equal to Heaven”, but I think someone beat me to that title already, and I’m unsure if a living Buddha could escape the Buddha’s Palm. To use DnD terms, even a Level 1 Sage is greater than, or at least equivalent to, a Lvl 20 character. This is the evolutionary plateau I sought to overcome half a lifetime ago. The true death is when we cease to progress, and I have effectively made myself immortal.
What do I envision from here on out?
The direction I’m heading in is that I will eventually reduce my possessions to a single closet’s worth of memories/items, and will purchase a van to inhabit… Right now it’s a single storage unit’s worth, and a house on the beach, which just isn’t what I am after! If you want to come along for a beach holiday, get in touch, but it’ll probably be airbeds and restaurants as I don’t like the idea of too much furniture…
Remember my 3 Rules!
1. Do not gift me material presents.
In fact, my ideal present is if you took the time/effort/money you would have spent on me, applied it to yourself, and then relate the details to me.
2. I do not discuss my work in detail.
This is simply because I am uninteresting, even quite boring, without the element of Mystique. Ask anyone who’s dated me, if you can locate them.
3. Enjoy my company without becoming attached. I could be gone at any moment, an occupational condition of a Sage.
I may need to come up with a new Terms and Conditions for this, but for the meanwhile, I’m sure people will pass the memo along!
Solosopher & Solosophy 