chronicled

Not a day goes by when I don’t hear something like, “Jonathan, you’re like a buddha in Brad Pitt’s body.” Trust me, I know. In fact, I know a lot of things about myself. But these mundane truths won’t raise any eyebrows.

What will raise a proverbial eyebrow is a completely fresh and challenging tidbit about myself, something that only a few are aware of. Such as the sense of connection I have with the world–with the birds of the air, the fish of the seas, the peoples of the fields. There’s nothing I enjoy more than hanging out in the adobe hut in my backyard, making sand drawings on the floor with a stick and thinking about fire.

Many people only know my suave side. Only a select few know the primitive Jonathan. The Jonathan who fabricated crude fishing poles out of sticks and string as a kid. The Jonathan who worked in a factory one summer with steel and pneumatic tools. The Jonathan who enjoys the smell of freshly laid mulch.

This, my friends, is the Jonathan worth knowing. True, wrapped around my mysterious and industrious core is a façade that’s none too shabby. “God’s gift to woman,” as some put it. But stick around long enough and maybe–just maybe–you’ll be able to get past my outward appearance and get to know a guy that’s primitive and, above all else, human.

Because really, I’m a lot like you.