[Disclaimer: Everything depicted in this story is fictional and solely the product of the artist/author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or people is purely coincidental.]
Background:
From his shadow's point of view, this story contains the poignant events from Raymond Kohl's life that made him what he is today, a self-made tech multi-billionaire.
Somewhat of a recluse now, Mr. Kohl's early public persona was that of a stoic, ruthless, robot-like businessman.
This story reveals the private, very much human side of Raymond H. Kohl.
"La Silhouette Se Souvient: Movements, Mind's Eye and Mindset"
Raymond was a born lurker; not in any malicious or perverse kind of way. He just thought people were fascinating.
Whenever he was forced to wait for anything, he happily spent the time watching people (e.g., at shopping malls, train stations, airports, etc.).
Observing people go about their business, he often wondered what motivated them to get up in the morning; amusing himself by creating little short stories in his mind about the lives of those "intriguing strangers".
Most of them were on auto-pilot, oblivious to other people and the things going on around them.
"What a shame. They got the order backwards," Raymond thought.
His father used to say "People go where they're looking. And people look 'where' they're thinking."
In other words, individual thought is always the First Cause. It sets everything else in motion.
But the ability to choose one's own thoughts is a skill that very few are born with.
It may take years of training and life experience to master the skill - if ever.
Since early childhood, Raymond was keenly aware of his own thoughts and how they made him feel.
He learned quickly that changing his thoughts "changed his world", helped him find solutions faster and prompted him towards action.
The Power Of Choice -
While Dr. Victor Frankl (author of the excellent book "Man's Search For Meaning"), was a prisoner in a Nazi Death Camp, he noticed that the only significant difference between survivors and non-survivors was that survivors consciously chose their thoughts.
Consequently, the "thought choosers" survived.
They had to.
Why?
Because in their hearts and minds, they were destined for greater, more fulfilling things.
They forced themselves to keep thinking about their life's purpose; about what they still were meant to do and why they needed to continue living.
Each person's purpose was different.
It may have been a loved one they'd been separated from and wanted to see again; if only for one last time.
Or it could've been a personal goal, academic or professional achievement that they believed they could accomplish and desperately wanted to attain.
The point is this:
In spite of all the death and dying around them, these people survived the Nazi Death Camps when millions of others perished simply because they took conscious control of their thoughts.
They kept a constant, vivid vision of the "who, what and where they ultimately were meant to be" in their minds 24/7.
Their actions "followed where their eyes were looking" which was predicated by the thoughts they instantly held in their mind.
And in spite of the horrendous conditions, their thoughts produced both internal physiological changes and external, observable actions to make sure they went "where their minds were thinking".
The act of consiously choosing their own thoughts literally saved their lives.
Being both an Observer and Participant in your life -
Thinking about your own thoughts is hard, very difficult, indeed.
It forces one to face themselves and realize that maybe they don't particularly like what they see.
In fact, it can be so distasteful and feared that almost everyone will do anything to avoid it.
It's much easier to succumb to all the mind-numbing distractions around us.
For example, it's nothing to flip on the television, get lost in a computer game, or spend countless hours chatting online.
And it doesn't take very long to get habituated and never even question why you're doing it.
In reality, they're giving that all-important choice of what to spend their precious attention on to other entities.
The skill of being both an observer AND participant in your life is essential to making conscious choices.
Otherwise, a person's path in life is determined by other people's choices.
"If you don't have the wherewithal to make conscious choices, you are dooming yourself to a life 'By Default'.
Consequently, you're not worthy to sit at that crucial, life-determining decision table; and therefore, you must accept crumbs from that table.
In short, you ony get the leftovers - whatever remains on the plate after everyone else has chosen." - JaiChai
Build your conscious choice skills, or live by default.
It's either discipline your thoughts or accept your fate; a fate usually filled with regret and anxiety.
[Present Day]
Raymond Kohl, Founder and CEO of Kohl Technologies, Inc. peered outside the window of his limousine.
He saw something unusual.
It was a "traffic cop".
With today's modern traffic lights, network controlled traffic flow and increasingly more self-driving cars, the sight of the enigmatic white-gloved, arm-waving, whistle-blowing policeman made Raymond chuckle.
And it looked like the cop was REALLY into his work; spinning and moonwalking while he signaled the lines of vehicles to stop, start or continue.
As his limousine passed the traffic cop, Raymond switched off the multi-screen, simultaneous streams of business, tech and crypto news.
He decided to stop thinking about business altogether and have some fun.
Activating his Speech-To-Text program he said, "Title: 'The Dancing Mole' (scratch that.) Title: 'Blue Sleeper' by JaiChai S. (pseudonym).
To the public, Police Officer James 'Jimmy' Whittaker was a respected, highly decorated 24-year veteran of the LAPD.
His family and friends described 'Officer Jimmy' as a friendly man with an infectious smile and always ready to 'Protect and Serve'
Only his Ukraine Handlers knew the truth.
Jimmy was one of the last remaining assets from the old DHCO "Distant Horizon Covert Operative" Program - long thought to be discontinued since the early '80s.
During the decades since his implant and infiltration, the sleeper agent performed his job perfectly.
Jimmy had fooled everybody, including his wife and teenage daughter."
[Raymond was still crafting "Blue Sleeper" as the limousine turned into the parking lot of Kohl Technologies corporate headquarters...]
Submitted for your entertainment.
May you and yours be well and loving life today.
In Lak'ech, JaiChai
"Movements, Mind's Eye and Mindset" URL on Opensea:
https://opensea.io/assets/matic/0x2953399124f0cbb46d2cbacd8a89cf0599974963/63477199864332346876047430691250883279803745216811129316337883325792163725313/
This submission includes excerpts from: https://steemit.com/philosophy/@jaichai/ijch-the-human-hadamard-gate-an-easy-to-understand-discussion-about-quantum-physics-philosophy-and-perceptions-reality.
[See more of my NFT collections on OpenSea: La Silhouette Se Souvient; Filipina Allure; Empyrean Beauty; Viking Women Warriors; Proud, Strong and Beautiful; Exotic Allure; Assassin's Exotique; Orbiting Outliers; Quae Volant and Ancient Alien Digs]