The Spiritual Guy
Description
SUMMARY:
Award winning author Jet Elway takes an irreverent look at the nebulous world of "enlightenment" by delving into his own rather dubious awakening. In this story he attempts to tease apart the realities of self-proclaimed enlightenment, narcissism, and mental illness.
EXCERPT:
You never forget the moment when you become spiritually enlightened. For me, I was in my late teens, out on a dock after an evening of fishing when my cousin Keith spit in my face. No, that wasn’t the moment. That was the start of an exhausting spit-fight. I finally had him down on the edge of the dock, about to land one last mammoth spit to the back of his head, when he reached into the water and grabbed the fish stringer. He swung it with all his might and slapped me hard across the face with the one fish we had caught.
I saw stars and felt the fish slime running down my cheek. Something happened. I got off my cousin and stood there while he laughed and sprayed me with spit one last time.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?†he asked, still laughing but looking a little concerned.
The entire world was transformed. The fish slime, the spit, every sight and sound was amazing, beautiful.
“That fish must have tasted really good,†he teased, then paused again. “What are you smiling about?â€
I was smiling at the world as it truly was.
Keith became serious. “Jet? Do you know where you are? I didn’t mean to hit you that hard, maybe you should sit down and rest for a while.â€
In my state of perfection I reached out with one finger, inserted it exactly into his left nostril, and with almost no effort pulled him off balance and watched him fall into the lake. His cursing sounded like music to my ears. I laughed, not at him, but at the entire absurd universe. I was never the same again.
That was twenty years ago.
Award winning author Jet Elway takes an irreverent look at the nebulous world of "enlightenment" by delving into his own rather dubious awakening. In this story he attempts to tease apart the realities of self-proclaimed enlightenment, narcissism, and mental illness.
EXCERPT:
You never forget the moment when you become spiritually enlightened. For me, I was in my late teens, out on a dock after an evening of fishing when my cousin Keith spit in my face. No, that wasn’t the moment. That was the start of an exhausting spit-fight. I finally had him down on the edge of the dock, about to land one last mammoth spit to the back of his head, when he reached into the water and grabbed the fish stringer. He swung it with all his might and slapped me hard across the face with the one fish we had caught.
I saw stars and felt the fish slime running down my cheek. Something happened. I got off my cousin and stood there while he laughed and sprayed me with spit one last time.
“Hey, what’s wrong with you?†he asked, still laughing but looking a little concerned.
The entire world was transformed. The fish slime, the spit, every sight and sound was amazing, beautiful.
“That fish must have tasted really good,†he teased, then paused again. “What are you smiling about?â€
I was smiling at the world as it truly was.
Keith became serious. “Jet? Do you know where you are? I didn’t mean to hit you that hard, maybe you should sit down and rest for a while.â€
In my state of perfection I reached out with one finger, inserted it exactly into his left nostril, and with almost no effort pulled him off balance and watched him fall into the lake. His cursing sounded like music to my ears. I laughed, not at him, but at the entire absurd universe. I was never the same again.
That was twenty years ago.
