The Pursuit of Knowledge

Hello Wild Knights! Tonight’s post is a bit of an explanation for the blog’s diverse range of blog topics. Blaze and I are fanatics when it comes to learning about the things we love. We are both musicians and actors, and we have a wide variety of interests as well. As you may have noticed, we are intensely  focused on environmental issues and improving our planet in any way possible. So many subjects completely fascinate us, and we want to learn and be involved in all of them! Wild Knights is meant to find people who are passionate about what they do, bring them all together under one flag, and change the world together. That’s why we cover so many different topics and styles.

To give you an idea of what kind of stuff that we do to learn…..My first big move was studying Vocal Performance in college. I love music and I LOVE performing. I had never felt so happy. Then I started to expand. I’m a very outdoorsy fellow, and decided to research Wildlife Biology and took classes to learn as much as I could. How better to be involved environmentally than to learn all we can about our world and act upon it?

I love to learn. It’s funny, in school I got perfect grades, but never enjoyed learning anything. Even learning another language in school felt dull and uninteresting. When I left school I felt like all that time had amounted to nothing. I wasn’t passionate about any of the subjects and had no clue what to do next.

I found my passion in growing. Being able to take the things I’ve learned and applying them in all aspects of my life.

For example, recently my passion has been electronics and greener technology. I’ve been cramming online lessons and studying as much as possible to learn about everything from computer engineering to robotics. I have started the process of building my own PC, my first technological pride and joy, completely customized and built by me. Yeah it’s easy to do, but it means a lot to me. Understand each part and its purpose. Understanding how it works and how to make it more efficient. Then imagining what I can do with that knowledge. I could start building robots. I could design software or my own video games. Anything under the sun.

With so many diverse characters involved in Wild Knights, we all add something unique to the mix. Thousands of unique individuals with such diverse talents and careers, all united in pursuit of the same goal.

What is my goal for Wild Knights? To become a planet-wide organization, consisting of unique people who will inspire others to become the best they can be.

The world could always use more heroes.

~Emrys

 

The Value of Art in Our Universe.

Lately, as part of my wanderings, I’ve been contemplating the value of art in our world. Many a time through this process I experienced a quantum leap: It’s not always the art itself necessarily, it’s being a creative force in the universe and the inspiration of reactions.

Art has proven in my life and other lives to be cathartic at least, healing for most, and ecstatic for those who dive deep into it. Art therapy was provided for Syrian refugees as a way to express their feelings, views, and stories. The resulting work has touched countless lives and created connection for people who had overcome tremendous loss, war, and upheaval in every sense of the word. There’s no way to begin putting a price on this (so why do so many calling the shots in our education systems even try?!)

Global Humanitaria/Bader Center

Work like that of the artists from Syria brings to light another point: Artistic creation is not only a means of therapy, but it rips the mask off social constructs, people, ideas, and can potentially present an alternate view that can change the world. I had the honor of portraying a character in the musical Cabaret, which, if you know the show, illustrates what hatred and separation can do to us. Messages in our art ring with truth and prove to be important lessons potentially for many many years after. Not only through the process of the production did I learn the joy of dance to accompany the songs in my heart, make connections, rip down my own barriers and fears, but I helped deliver this message to thousands. Someday our art will begin to inspire masses to create change in our world for the better. What will we dare to envision for ourselves next?

At the end of the day, this is all based in numbers and small victories. I think the crowning achievements of art lie in the magical ways like minded individuals find themselves tied to the same energy, sometimes even landing in the same room together. Art could move mountains, tear down walls, and transcend better than any negotiator to create unity and peace. Mutual love is far more rewarding and powerful than mutual hatred, and that is why it’s so effective at changing society: it leads by example. Mass media is created and mirrors the creator’s vision for general expression, energy, behaviors and interests. Artists have and always will be at the forefront of the freedom fighters’ ranks.

You got an opinion on this topic? PLEASE email me at championsunchained@gmail.com and fire away!

Blaze

P.S. Emrys has had poor internet connectivity in the wild outdoors, so send him some love and positive energy.

P.S.S. The Value of Art in this Time of Transition: Daniel Pinchbeck at TEDxChelsea This is quite the thought provoking jolt of info some of us need I do believe.

From Existential Crisis to Mufasa Moment.

I would never want to start on a sour note, so I’ll say genuinely that it’s REALLY great to be back here hanging with all my Knights. I apologize for the delay in posts, and I’m actually about to explain my absence.

The past couple weeks haven’t been easy for me, but it was necessary. Like the Hero, I had to compete with my demons.

Here I am, indomitable.

I had fallen out of touch with who I was (I needed that Mufasa-in-the-clouds moment bad) and had forayed into darkness and away from source for answers I couldn’t see. I had left the land of passionate creation and had taken journeys with the idea that I may find myself, and so I traveled far from who I really was. Instead, I began to hear the answers through the music I played, and began to come to terms with my faulty beliefs and disillusions. Then, I got to emotionally reawaken my passion for life and creation not only through music, but by playfully being in the moment. And so, I had this epiphany: I tried so hard to be the best version of myself that I blocked my own energy. Naturally, I had evolved and worked on myself enough that my emotional and philosophical wanderings had paid off, but the best I got from those detours is this: All the things I admired and wanted to be while growing up were things I recognized in myself and identified with. It lived in my heart and reminded me of the true meaning to the words “you are what you love”.

i couldn’t resist.

 

No matter how you look at it, life is a gift. Whether you are Christian, Buddhist, Athiest or Agnostic from the Big Apple or a small village in the wilderness, who could overlook how lucky any individual is to be born? You are a unique coalesce of energy the likes of which has never been experienced before, and whatever you do with the life you are given is entirely up to you. Isn’t that beautiful?

Now, more than ever, I am in love with the idea that we can be whoever we choose to be. Nothing can take away that freedom unless you give someone permission, and even that power exchange is an illusion. Nobody can break a wild spirit truly because love is woven into our energetic signature. That is the nature of reality.

So, Wild Knights, my most sincere of hopes is that when you begin any journey, you remember the most intrinsic element of your being. I hope your journey is overflowing with life, and I hope you succeed in all your endeavors and fulfill your hearts desires. Not just I, all of us. All of us want you to be undeniably and unquestionably the real embodiment of who you are. Be wild, be daring, be empathetic, be passionate, and fill in the blanks where I haven’t and show me who you are, you fox!

Blaze

P.S. We should all aim to be as wise as this fellah. Yeah. 

The Road Less Traveled

Good evening fellow Wild Knights!  It’s been a busy couple weeks, but I have finally moved in to my dorm at Old Faithful at Yellowstone National Park  😀   It feels a bit like I fell back into winter once I got here. In Tennessee it was about 75 degrees, and yet here the entire Yellowstone Lake is frozen over. I definitely didn’t mind the sudden onslaught of freezing temperatures, and immediately after my check in I went on an amazing hike through the mountains!

My main reason for coming back to Yellowstone was to treat this place like a kind of training ground. I have different goals that I needed to reach and I needed a place where I could do it without distraction and with 2.2 million acres of nature to inspire me.

First and foremost, I needed to learn how best to take care of myself. Physically and mentally.  For the past couple months my living arrangements have been less than ideal, and my food options even less so. No more!!!!!! I’ve been at Yellowstone for about 3 days now, and every meal has been healthy with tons of nutrients that I’ve been deprived of (thank you Kale ;D). I’ve almost completely removed all sugar from my diet, and started drinking nothing but water. Once the employee gym opens for the season tomorrow, I will have a fantastic work out regime designed to build my body into the shape I want.

I finally have time to work on projects and skills that I have wanted forever. Every day I can practice my Spanish and my drawing, improving steadily and excited for the next breakthrough.  As a spur of the moment decision a few weeks ago, I decided that I would also get my online degree in Wildlife Biology. I felt that to be considered major players in the environmental scene, I needed to formally educate myself on all the things I love.

Alongside my personal goals, I wanted to use this 6 month Yellowstone journey to expand Wild Knights and our network of exceptional individuals.  Millions of people visit the park every year, and I couldn’t think of any better spot to recruit some Knights to help us change the world. Like the best of them, however, we needed to walk the walk.

So with that in mind, to get Wild Knights involved in environmental affairs and add new members, I decided to join the Yellowstone Environmental Stewardship (YES!), which is an environmentalism council that works on sustainability projects throughout the park. My hope is to both help make this place more environmentally friendly and to make connections with people who feel the same about the entire planet. I’ll be posting updates as time goes on about the various green projects going on in the park. Hopefully we can inspire others to make a difference as well 😉

 

To all the Wild Knights out there, I look forward to working with you to change the world.

Tootles for now 😉

~Emrys