Etched in Stone: The Fountains

By Robert Koyich

Etched in Stone is the first part of the compilation book Shards of My Soul. The book is the 7th in the Fountains Series and is a continuation of the Rob's journey with metaphor, life, and wisdom. The book contains prose with elements fusing intent, ability, and commitment and Robert writes about Providing Point, a non-profit organization he started. The lessons and ideas he encounters and the evolution of his written work are a steadfast commitment to improving both his own and other's situations through an obsessive refusal to quit. 100% of the royalties from Etched in Stone are used to provide for some of Rob's friends when they are in want and need.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Introversial
• Release date: Jan 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781989180099

Robert Koyich

Robert is located in Chilliwack, B.C., Canada.  He began two charitable initiatives: Providing Point that supplies reloadable grocery cards, and Chilliwack Housing Providers aiming to house people by providing rent subsidies.  The Fountains are his primary project and are closely linked to both programs.  If you would like to sign up for the Introvesial newsletter, please visit https://mailchi.mp/robertkoyich/introversial.  By signing up for the newsletter, you gain access to the digital version of Rob's book Fragments of Intent, The First Three Fountains.  

Book preview

Dedication

I’ve dedicated this bok to the process of life and how we each find our pathways.  Let us each find the thread wind about the loom.

Facts of the pacts made that let us wade amongst the sunsets.

The Third Round

Idon’t think people yet understand the puzzle I’ve found myself within.  There are very different and divergent layers of disparity in my awareness.  Some have a home, a job, and in some cases a car or truck, and in other cases, even more of an abundance of income.  It contrasts those with near nothing.

Regarding income, I know that I have less than most people who have a full-time job.  I also understand I’m blessed and have access to more than some people.  Some cannot receive PWD (disability) as I do, or even welfare and also need support.  There also are people that work and receive governmental benefits. 

The people that have jobs and an income of $24,000 a year are earning more than I had in 2016 and 2017.  For those that made more, I wish you can create and acquire even more ethically and allow some for those that want improved lives and situations.  When we have money, we can make a more significant impact depending on how we use it.

I haven’t always worked a regular hourly paid job.  I do, though, put in a fair deal of effort and work.  Some would laugh at the idea that writing can be a viable career or profession, or that it’s work, yet much is required to bring books into the world.  Many levels of skill, commitment, and devotion are needed to form a book, and I have chosen to work on a creative pathway. 

As of this point, I’d not yet earned much money from writing.  I deem the role and function of authorship potentially quite valuable, even beyond earnings as there are intrinsic gains of self-awareness and learning.  It may be great for others to write their books too, and for those that do, I hope you find the benefits and increases in your results also. 

Some may wonder why I don’t have to work a full-time job like they have to.  I agree that PWD is for people that can’t function well at work, and I am a person in that situation.  Some people on PWD contribute in different ways, though, and even when unable to work full-time, we can bring value and connection into the world and be positive influences. 

I know from past jobs and experiences that I’m not capable of working forty hours a week at a job.  My near-violent reactions by being held or trapped in work positions aren’t a benefit for anyone.  I’d lost my sanity and composure previously when working as a dishwasher; I freaked out.  I went nuts working at Wendy’s for a few years too.  I couldn’t tolerate some behaviours and spiritual energies when I worked graveyards at a gas station and was marked as terminated at that job

I’ve sometimes found myself barely able to cope with being alive; it’s tricky to be responsible and be employed when mental health issues hound.  When I wrote Fields of Formation, the 5th Fountain, I was pushed far to the edges of safety and sanity.  I’m incredibly thankful and fortunate to be alive, and though it may not seem it, my life has been difficult at times. 

I have what I have, yet some aggravation from others may exist because I have the grace and blessings that they don’t.  Or, it could be because I don’t work a job I hate as some do.  My thankfulness may not be entirely understood or appreciated, and though I may not have things like a car, I’m grateful for what I have. 

I’ve often had concerns about what others think, and with the disparity between myself having a home, food, and water compared to those that don’t, it makes me want to help form a balance.  I choose to provide, though my work hadn’t yet earned myself a primary living income for myself, let alone providing for people in our community. 

I’ve attempted a creative salary through authorship and music, and by using the sales of books and music as a pathway to earnings, my efforts and merits shall hopefully result in a win/win.  If I can share my work and earn money by selling books and albums, I commit to sharing parts of those earnings.

Shifting to personal relations and people we know, many like to be our friends and not just contacts or customers.  Of Gary Vaynerchuk’s statement, marketers ruin everything, I’d still like to find a balance of engagement and genuine care coupled with the ability to earn prosperity.  By now, the people that love me as a person, and don’t want to read what I’ve formed, may be put off by me marketing to earn sales. 

If I establish a livable income from my creative endeavours, it’s a fact I’ve not marketed well up to this point.  I’ve spammed some people with my ideas and the concept of Providing Point (my charitable work and cause), and I don’t want to work full-time as a fundraiser. 

The big hairy audacious goal of Providing Point is to provide food, shelter, and water for all people.  I’ve started with gathering for and from the people in the town I live in, though it seems like a completely irrational goal.  I understand the models and theories for future growth, yet with results up to release, we hadn’t grown significantly. 

It’s a humanitarian viewpoint to believe that people should all have their basic needs met, and perchance our prosperity does manifest.  I’ve denied my guilty conscience from loving my life, sometimes, and I wish others could adore theirs too.  It sometimes seems, though, that something isn’t right.

An additional difficulty I find myself in is that it doesn’t matter what I want, it’s what others want.  If others want to be negatively irenic and aim at me for being too ambitious, or oppositely lax, then why is it okay for others to have materialistic or other grand wants or do nothing themselves? 

If I desire basic human decency, safety, and a solution for all, how could I achieve that on my own?  I’m not definite that I can.  I’ve vented and expressed negative emotions and have had angst because it seems I’m going nowhere, yet what I want to do is encourage others to delve into theories and ideas for a more cohesive unity. 

If I can propose a solution and articulate it for others to hear or read, though, what would it matter if no one else understands, listens to, or supports it?  I see the distribution of my books as seeds that can be shared and planted in other people’s gardens, and it does start at home.  I need to sort out my attitudes and behaviours and let the books provide awareness and new thought.  I know I can’t force people to read or care; it has to be an open invitation. 

If my ideas and recommendations encourage others to share and foster positive reciprocation, then isn’t that an additional layer of good?  Dare we find this work as a conduit for the benefit of many?  Hopefully.  If I set myself aside and work for other gains, we find ways to advance our understanding and process.

The seeds sown germinate to sprout and grow in the gardens and fields.  If I revert the ideas upon themselves, it’s then my responsibility to plan, develop, and tend the soil.  If these ideas and creations are the seeds I believe them to be, then I must trust in others and share them. 

Some seeds or plants may never fully flourish, yet I think it’s worth planting.  We may grow some fantastic things, and though it may be presumptuous to think of harvest too soon, perchance it is a law of numbers thing again; plant more seeds, and more shall grow.

As part of this, I fear a penance and retaliation for not pushing for pledges or sales.  If the objective is to provide for people, then why have I not marketed more vigorously for patrons or sales?  If I develop ethical marketing skills and don’t abuse awareness, we can achieve some radically good results.

The intent, purpose, and function of the books have shifted a lot since the first book, Finding Natalie.  The obsessive path of sharing my cliché wishes and whims also shows my ideas strafe me away from conflict.  I also sometimes dislike hearing myself speak, and even if not