The Ardent Axiom
"I am just a cerebral wayfarer on an introvertive sojourn."
Tag: Courage
The Thousand Year Journey
The Thousand Year Journey Jedidiah Jenkins offers up some inspiring wisdom for those of us seeking deeper meaning in life: Follow Jedidiah on Instagram
Muslim Refugees, Christianity and the Future of Freedom
Muslim Refugees, Christianity, and the Future of Freedom Vetting, the process of reviewing refugee candidates before they come into the U.S., should be a concern for all of us. In this essay I will discuss why, but above all else I want you…
In Search of Self
In Search of Self Over the years I’ve learned that the most potent of personal feelings can be the most consoling and relatable to other people who are going through their own hardships. So without even knowing it, you can touch the lives of…
Ubiquitous
Ubiquitous After nine years of living in my own self-created prison, locked away deep inside of myself, a place darkened by self-hatred, denial, fear, shame, and many other things, I opened the steel door that had long been my burden and for the first…
In My Own Words
**Note: this essay was written in 2012, I no longer identify under the label “gay”. The word has too many restrictions, connotations, stereotypes and unintended meanings. July 2, 2012 In My Own Words It is fundamentally important to understand that people choose their religious…
If You Could Only See
(Please note that this piece was written prior to the Federal Supreme Court decision ruling it unconstitutional to deny same-sex couples the right to marry.) For a very long time, I’ve wanted to be able to write something that spelled out exactly why civil…
Here and There, Now and Then
January 29, 2012 It’s no secret that I’m unhappy with my life. Clearly, I need to do something about that. What isn’t so obvious to me, is what I need to do. I’m unhappy with my personal life and I’m unhappy with my professional…
The Erosion of the Sagacious American Intellect
January 1, 2012 I once said that I would write an atheist manifesto, but this is not it. However, religion and atheism is the subject of this writing. If you don’t like the idea of subjugating American religion and ridding it from our government (ode…
Self-Reflection: To End A Cold, Damp Day
September 18, 2011 Self-Reflection: To End A Cold, Damp Day If ever there was something that I could call my own, something that I could say was my niche in life, this would be it. What I’m doing right now, this act is the…
The Man In The Mirror
July 17, 2011 “The man who never learns to face himself, will never know what it means to be free.” The Man In The Mirror I ask myself why it bothers me so much that there are groups of people who take a strong…
Two Journeys, One Life
March 27, 2011 I was born on the 14th of November 1985 to Catholic German Americans. On one August night in the year 1996, a black hand would descend upon me, leaving behind a scar that would forever alter the direction of my life….
Keep You: Part Two
March 19, 2011 You are so shy and so quiet, never wanting to be noticed. Painfully introverted, you carry out entire conversations in your head, conversations you will probably never honestly have. Your lips moving, but the sounds never come out. I watch and…
Keep You: Part One
February 27, 2011 You grew up out in a rural part of the state of Missouri. You consider yourself a small town guy, you know a lot of people, but you hold onto a few close friends. Most of the people you know now that you…
Through My Eyes
November 29, 2010 “Because everywhere I go there is a world that doesn’t understand.” I would give up the rest of my life to show you how it feels, to make you see life through my eyes. If even for a moment, I could…
A Letter on the Intrinsic Threads of the Human Heart
October 2, 2010 Dear Whomever, For half a decade I have been sharing my deepest and often times my darkest thoughts with anyone who has wandered onto my path. I have shared my life, my private thoughts and my most personal of emotions in…
Awaiting Daybreak: Regression and a Nation Asunder
It is fundamentally important to understand that I believe in human progress. That we, as a nation and a species, must always put one foot in front of the other, hold up our heads and march forward. Always against the tides of repression and…
Walk With Me
July 15, 2010 I was born on American soil, of German-American blood. With that birth I was guaranteed certain civil rights. And then one day I learned that one of those rights was no longer mine to claim. It has been taken from me,…
To Die In A Closet
“It never ceases to disappoint me how someone will be your friend, if only you will stand in the corner with a bag over your head. How can you call someone a friend if they embrace you in private, but deny you in public?…
Depression and Iron: A Love Story
February 28, 2010 Many years ago I picked up a barbell for the first time after watching my brothers do the same. It only weighed between 10 and 20 lbs, but this one instance would lead to many more for years to come and…
The Audacity of Individuality
March 21, 2010 Ever feel pressure to conform to the standards of a social group in which you are forced to be a member? Well, I have and in multiple social groups. This writing is only about one of them, this is my middle…
A Little Something on Self-Acceptance
December 8, 2009 I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that I love who I am and what I am as a person, as a human being and as a man. And while I say that I accept me for me, I…
At Peace With Goodbye
June 2007 Remembering you is never enough to smother the flame above my heart, memories of what has been will never be suffice to subside my desire to touch you one last time. Photographs of you do your presence no justice, this paper form…
Knowing the Road Ahead
May 2007 Knowing the Road Ahead By the time I wake up, the sun has already begun to rise and cast its morning rays through my southeastern window. The sun is warm as it passes through the glass and onto my face. Everything is…
The Great Rift of the Global Soul
February 2009 One of the greatest things that I have ever learned was from some of the most meek people in the world… monks. Again and again like the waves lapping against the shore of my mind, I am awakened over and over to…
Asylum of My Mind: A Beckoning to Darker Places
November 30, 2009 Asylum of My Mind: A Beckoning to Darker Places A subtle flickering of light in my head, a missed revelation to coming events. For a moment I think to myself that it’s nothing at all, just something for today. It won’t…
Kephen