The Epiphany

         

        For the last forty years Jeremiah had sought for something he didn't know. Pursuing this unknown dream was irritating to say the least. He would get within what seemed to be arms reach, only to realize that one cannot grasp something intangible as happiness. His younger days were spent in and out of depression, Jeremiah became disillusioned with his concealed fate. The begrudging attitude accompanied by the lack of success was beginning to affect his daily life in the worst way. Working in construction at his current age of forty five, he was most certainly unhappier than he had ever been. Jeremiah's unknown quest had taken him far from where he grew up. The last place that he could remember true contentedness.

         Sweating under the intense California sun, he would have sold his soul to the devil for a chance to be back in upstate New York. Jeremiah was a heavyset man, he loved the cold and felt especially immune to it's effects. With a passion usually reserved for women or a career, he loathed the oven-like city in which he had become trapped. It began to eat away at him, day after day like a cancer of the soul, in which one could not possibly receive enough radiation for a cure. All he wanted was happiness, however such a thing is often transient. One may acquire what they think would equate to happiness, and find that not only is the equation incorrect, but they are now lost. For material and emotional desires are fleeting happiness. They cannot bring what we already have without.  After this realization, Jeremiah had begun his search for what was lost in childhood. The blissful ability children have that allows them to not have a care in the world, when responsibility was nipping at their heels. The unknown dream, what would truly make him the most content.

         He was having trouble paying the bills and had taken a second, temporary job picking fruit in the orchards.  It was during this tedious gathering that Jeremiah had an epiphany. Suddenly striking him as if from Zeus himself. He threw down his gloves and climbed down the ladder. On the ground once again, he grabbed an orange and began to peel it as he walked through the orchard toward his truck.

         “Jeremy, where the hell are you going!” A voice shouted from behind, presumably his boss.

         Jeremiah however, had entered a trance-like state of enlightenment. Biting into the orange he was overcome with an intense euphoria. As if eating the fruit for the first time, he relished every succulent bite, every drop of the sweet juice. Discarding the orange peel, he began to take in his surroundings. Everything more vibrant with ever increasing curiosity. The green of the leaves and grass, the denim color of the sky with splotches of cloud. It was all beautiful and he took it in, accepting it for what it was, it's function in the world and the way in which all were connected. He need not concern himself with a pursuit of intangible feelings and material possessions. Feelings which he already contained deep within himself from birth. He need only understand and accept his own place in the world. He would return to his home state, spending the remainder of his life amongst family and friends. In the place where he was most comfortable with the people he loved more than anything. The search was over. Jeremiah now understood that it is pointless to search for something that isn't lost. A large smile grew across his face as he drove from the orchard. He had it all along, the key, the essential comprehension of how simple it all really is. There are no secrets in life, no big mysteries that explain why we are here or what we should do with our time. The answer is all around; in the trees, animals, the earth, the water, even in human architecture and our incredible accomplishments. Even with the considerable indiscretions along the way. All are relative and all are beautiful. One need only find the balance between pleasure and pain, loss and gain.

         The wind blew through his hair exhilarating and soothing simultaneously. He had a similar feeling of butterflies in the stomach, which came from the newly transcended outlook. Optimism overwhelmed him with the unlimited amount of possibilities from this new found view. Jeremiah stopped to fuel his truck, bought a plum and continued east toward home. Where he belonged. Before, he was concerned with the possibility of dying five miles from where he was born. As if the experience of leaving all that he knew would somehow mean a well lived life. It was all water under the bridge now, he left his home, belongings, and recent life behind in California. He could not regret his decisions, for they were a possible contributor to his enlightenment. Life was now stimulating, passionate, a joy to be a part of.

         Jeremiah decided to take his time driving home, stopping at national parks and witnessing indescribably gorgeous rainfall from across an open desert valley. All was spectacular to witness, as if for the first time. Jeremiah stood in awe of all nature had to offer. Having a recent correspondence with his high school sweetheart, he decided to seek out his now single, former love and possibly start a family. For this was what he loved more than anything else in the world. His family was everything, without them he could not have maintained for so many years. It was clear and more logical than ever that this was something he needed.

         Driving across the wide open plains was incredible to him. As he covered the vast American terrain, sights, smells and sounds satiated his soul. Filling him with a lifetime of natures splendor and an infinite well of knowledge to draw upon. He studied and observed learning all that the earth could teach him. It was as close as he ever felt to a God.

         Jeremiah knew then, that he would live a happy, quiet and contented life. As he neared home, he began to put it to words in his head. How to describe the changes he had gone through since the day in the orchard. What he could tell his family and sweetheart. Regardless of the outcome, he was open to whatever life had in store. He would learn from everything and accept loss or pain for what it was; an essential part of life. Nothing could depress him, no one could take the knowledge he possessed and with that, Jeremiah knew he would die happily with no regrets. The wind continued to blow through his hair as he drove. Now able to appreciate the simplicity of the road, he could never become impatient in traffic again, never could his temper get the best of him.

         The smile that had crept across his face as he drove from the orchard, remained throughout his trip. His enlightenment would remain for the rest of his days and he would attempt to pass the wisdom to anyone who would listen. And if a single soul were to gain from this knowledge, then his life would be a resounding success.

         He drove with his smile and the wind in his hair. Never pondering how drastically his mindset could have changed, it didn't matter. All that was necessary could be discerned as it came. The only pertinent matter was to drive, home.



Word Count: 1246