Story of A Journey
The story of the Trilogy, therefore, is in part the story of the author’s journey. It could be the story of your journey!
To the extent that the mind of each individual, in its deepest recesses, may contain much, if not all, the truth about all individuals and about our existence, I have relied upon my own mind. You can do the same with your mind – and the results will not be far apart.
The contents of the individual mind are, of course nourished, influenced, tempered and refined by the teachings and experiences of which we have been the recipients during our lives. The results of these explorations of the mind, back through as many experiences that can be recalled, and the subsequent clarification of the contents of the mind refelect an individual’s personal philosophy. The clarified contents of the authors’s mind, following the journeys described, in so far as they relate to the purpose of action in life, are contained in the first book of the Trilogy.
This book has been named The Brook because of the belief that life flows, as the waters in the river. Several other reasons, or you may call them justifications, for selecting the Brook as a metaphor for life are enumerated in the book. In other words, The Brook presents a philosophy of life as a collection of actions, expressed through the metaphor of flowing waters.
To the extent that the world is, in part, a complex collection of human actions and experiences, an attempt has been made to capture the essence of action. To facilitate this, action has been “dividing” it into what may be considered its key elements. In order to understand these essential elements of action, and how they relate to one another and to the broader question of success and fulfillment in life, a generalized framework for action has been developed.
Whereas the philosophy in the Brook provides the foundation for this framework for action, the content or substance of the framework is provided largely by “external” or “experientiual” information and knowledge. This substance was gathered from various ancient as well as modern sources and assimilated over the years. Much of the materials were collected in the course of our class projects and discussions. The results of these efforts appear largely in the second book in the Trilogy, Purposeful Action. The framework for Purposeful Action represents the boat or raft in which we navigate the Brook.
Finally, upon the continued insistence of my students as well as some friends and colleagues, an attempt was made at “packaging” and putting forth a third collection of ideas, or rather experiences, in the form of stories. Many of these tales of travelers are derived from the author’s own experiences. Otherds are from the experiences of individuals as well as of organizations which illustrate how purposeful action may be applied. Most of the examples are from real experiences, though a few are fictional. However, even the fictional examples have been constructed so as to represent realistic situations. Although many of the tales have their origin outside of my personal life experiences, each is now a veteran of a journey deep within my mind.
The third book of the Trilogy is largely a collection of insightful examples which illustrate the philosophy of the Brook and the framework for Purposeful Action. Metaphorically speaking, the third book of the Trilogy, Navigating the Whitewaters, provides the navigational “tools” and “maps” or “compass” to help the unseasoned navigator or the misdirected traveller set a course in life’s journey – a journey that would lead to success, happiness and fulfillment.
Essays excerpted from The Trilogy, as well the entire Brookmaster Game, can be found in the pages of this web site.
Happy navigating and, again, welcome to The Brook!