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EXCERPT FROM THE
BOOK:
VINCE'S GYM
CHAPTER THIRTY
Neo Talks About Putting
Your All Into Every Endeavor We Engage In
Neo
had called the gym and asked me if he could get a favor from me.
I was eager to help any of my friends and Neo was no exception.
He asked me if I would be able to borrow some jumper cables
since the battery in his truck had died. His had been stolen. He
gave me directions to the Eugene Public Library. I drove to the
library on my 750 Honda motorcycle with the cables I borrowed
from Rock. I parked in the parking lot at the library as
instructed by Neo. I saw his truck and since he was not in sight
I was wondering where he had wandered off to. Suddenly a door on
in the back of the library opened.
Neo was holding the door open and he waved me over and says,
“G’day mate…yer a sight fer sore eyes.”
I said, “Yeah, I haven’t seen you in over a week.” “Where have
you been?”
Neo said, “I had to leave town to attend to some business.”
He
opens the hood to his truck and puts one end of the cables on
his tired battery and I open the seat to my motorcycle and put
the other ends on my battery. We had his truck running in short
order.
I said, “What are you doing in the library after hours?”
Neo said, “I got me a new job fer awhile.”
I said, “Cool…what kind of job.”
Neo said, “Cleaning and stacking the books that have been
returned back on the shelves.” “It’s a breeze…I can get my job
done in one third the time the previous bloke had and the rest
of the time I get to read and get paid fer the pleasure.”
I said, “It sounds like a better gig than owning a gym.”
Neo said, “Yeah and no one to hassle with.” “Come on in.” He led
me through the library and towards a room in the back that said
“Employee’s Only.” “Welcome to my office and he grabs a
cup of black coffee and pours me one.”
Neo
said, “Half and Half?”
I said, “Ah…you know me well.” He grabs a seat at the lunch
table and invites me to sit with him.” “I wanted to thank you
for taking me on all those camping trips.”
Neo beamed and said, “My pleasure mate…I enjoy yer company.”
Even
though I often wrestled with the thoughts that Neo was possibly
mentally ill…very intelligent but clinically ill nevertheless; I
still felt a warm glow of pleasure that he enjoyed my company.”
I said, “I am not sure what I enjoy more, just being out in the
wilderness or simply having all of the thought provoking
conversations we have had.”
Neo
looked at me and his gold and violet flecked emerald eyes seemed
brighter than usual.
Smiling Neo said, “So ya think that even though I may be bonkers
I can give ya thought provoking conversations eh?”
My
face burned red from his insightful accusation.
I tried to redirect the conversation and I said, “Well it’s just
because I can’t seem to find people that I can have those types
of conversations with.”
Neo said, “Yer mates…Harry, Larry and the others aren’t much fer
talking about pie-in-the-sky stuff eh?’
I said, “Most of my friends love to talk…but I am beginning to
find out that some of them are blowhards who like to hear
themselves talk.” “It seems that some of them are experts on
knowing a page worth of information on many subjects.”
Neo said, “Yeah…I know the type…they try to pass themselves off
as experts on every subject.”
I was
drinking my coffee thinking about the last camping trip that Neo
and I had been on. I was thinking of the conversation we had and
now I had more questions.
I said, “The last time we talked you mentioned that religions
are founded or changed depending on the needs of the people.”
Neo said, “That’s pretty much it mate.”
I said, “You mentioned that Jesus did the same thing because of
the needs of his people during his time.”
Neo said, “Yes.”
I said, “What were the needs of the people of his time.”
Neo said, “It depends on who you talked to.”
I laughed and said, “Damn it!” “You always say that crap.”
Neo smiled and said, “Well it’s true.” “Okay…some people wanted
a military savior that would come among them to drive off the
Romans.” “Other people wanted spiritual salvation.” “Jesus had
no interest in military might, or political power.” “Jesus was
interested in helping to alleviate the emotional and spiritual
suffering of his people.”
I said, “But the people in his day were enslaved and they needed
to be free of the Romans.” “The Romans caused much of the
suffering of the Jews and would have benefited by a military
leader who would have rallied them to fight the Romans…instead
of someone that would just talk about social ethics and the
afterlife stuff.”
Neo said, “Jesus was very careful to tell his people to let the
Romans know that he and they had no ambitions for political or
military power.” “Jesus was very careful to let people know that
they should not rock the Roman boat, --
What is Caesar’s should be rendered to Caesar and
what is God’s be rendered to God.”
I
said, “What does that mean?”
Neo said, “That was basically what Jesus would tell his
people…particularly the Pharisees when they tried to trap him
for the crime of sedition against the Romans.” “Jesus knew that
it would be dangerous for him or any of his people to engage in
a military face-off with the Romans.” “He fully realized the
might of the Roman Empire and knew that the time was not ripe
for his people to go against them in combat.” “Besides, Jesus
knew that there is other…often better methods to resolve
problems without the use of deadly force.”
I said, “And pray tell, what would they be?”
Neo said, “By changing the way people think…by showing them a
better way of thinking and doing,” “Jesus also knew that core
problems that his people suffered from they would always carry
with them regardless of who governed them or how much they
enjoyed material wealth.”
I said, “What core problems are you talking about?”
Neo said, “Problems with their mind…their heart…their spirit.”
“Jesus taught people to always be prepared for the Kingdom of
Heaven.”
I said, “So what…weren’t the Pharisees also preaching that?”
Neo said, “Yes…but not exactly in the same way; they taught the
Jewish people that the Kingdom of Heaven may be accessible to
them after they died.”
He said, “Jesus was trying to teach his people that the Kingdom
of Heaven could be accessed and felt mystically while they were
still alive.”
Neo said, “He also tried to show people that people needed to
enjoy life as much as possible everyday; because in his mind,
who knew when your earthly life would end.”
I said, “Is that why Jesus liked to party?”
Neo said, “Jesus did like to dance, drink, make merry and hang
out with people that the Pharisees would snub.” “Jesus believed
that life should be lived to the fullest in every way, in every
endeavor; this does not mean that he approved of surrendering to
yer baser instincts or having fun at other people’s expense.”
I said, “Could you give me some examples of following Jesus’
advice of living life to the fullest?”
Neo said, “Jesus meant that we should pay full attention to our
physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of ourselves;
He would advise us to put full attention on sex, eating,
studying, learning, working, relationships or what have you….to
immerse ourselves…to lose ourselves and experience all of this
on a mystical level.”
I finished my coffee and mentioned that I had to go back to the
gym and hit the hay, so I could be rested for school the next
day.
I said, “Don’t get me wrong….as much as I like going camping
with you…it is more convenient to come here and have a chat with
you.”
Neo said, “Well come by anytime.”
I said, “Well I don’t want to just drop in and bother you.”
Neo said, ‘If I don’t feel like company…I won’t answer the
door.”
I said, “This break room is too far from the door…so how are you
going to hear me when I knock at the door?”
Neo said, “I got good ears mate.” “Ya know I don’t like ta talk
about a lot of this stuff at the gym, but if ya come by we can
chat more often.”
I bid him farewell knowing that I would see him at the gym.
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