I've always drawn myself to people that think negatively in hopes of being able to make their world a little bit brighter. It took a long time to realize that most people don't want to see life for it's true beauty. Most people have a desire to only see things in a negative light; they thrive on violence and destruction. I have spent my life drawn to these people... hoping that some day I may be able to show someone the beauty in something as simple as a blade of grass or the organized and efficient pattern of a colony of ants gathering food. I've found that in the times I've spent trying my hardest, the blade of glass gets torn out of boredom and the ants are burnt with a magnifying glass.

Yet when I am at my worst, the world always manages to show me how it's true beauty really does shine through. The rain falls, proving once again that even the most enormous things can be cleansed and washed away. The aroma of the water seeping into the Earth and the tiny droplets of water hitting my bare legs give me a sense of satisfaction and comfort. I stretch my legs out and let the rain hit harder. My confidence returns, yet I have no desire to go back to them.

"From now on I will divide the books I have read into two categories--the ones I read before Ishmael and those read after."

-Jim Britell, Whole Earth Review

This book has been the one thing that has changed my life so drastically that I can no longer think of things in the way that I once did. This one book, this one small piece of one man's mind, has gone so far as to change my entire thought process, my heart, everything down to the very small details.