What does a man do when he is born into a legacy that was never meant for him?
In the harsh frontier of a newly colonized land, Jack Green grows up in the shadow of his father, General Arthur Green, the respected founder of a struggling settlement. Yet within his own home, Jack faces rejection. His bitter mother favors his younger brother, Julian, leaving Jack to wrestle with resentment, expectation, and the feeling he does not belong.
When his father dies, Julian seizes control of the family legacy and banishes Jack from the only life he has known. Alone in an unforgiving wilderness, Jack begins a journey not just across the frontier, but deep within himself.
Survival forces him into an unlikely alliance with the tribal people he once feared, where he learns lessons about courage, leadership, and the deeper meaning of life.
But the past cannot stay buried.
To find peace—and reclaim what was taken—Jack must return to confront the brother who betrayed him and the family that broke him.
Essence of Life is a powerful tale of exile, redemption, and the search for what it truly means to live.*
The Oxford dictionary defines essence as the most important
quality or feature of something that makes it what it is.
The general sat high on his horse, overlooking the
battlefield he and his men had just conquered. It was early in
the morning. The fog was starting to lift the cries of the
injured men could be heard from the hill as the injured
soldiers were taken from the battlefield. The remaining
enemy troops were taken captive. The smell of gun powder
and blood filled the thick dewy air.
One of the general’s captains rode towards him to inform
the general of the situation. “General!” the captain saluted.
The general saluted back. “What’s the word from the
battlefront, captain?” the general asked.
“Of the five hundred troops, we lost seventy-five, Sir.
Another fifty-six are being transported to the medical tents
to tend to their injuries. The enemy troops lost two hundred
and thirty-five men, and another one hundred and twenty-
five injured. The rest have retreated; we’re not sure how
many.”
“Thank you, captain,” said the general.
“Is that all, General?” asked the captain.
The general paused for a moment, “Why do you think it
is our fight, captain? Why do we risk our lives to overthrow
other kingdoms for our king?” the general asked.
10“We do what we think is right, and we do what our king
asks of us; we obey the orders he gives and the orders you
pass down. General, we trust your leadership,” replied the
captain.
“Did the enemy troops not obey orders and do what their
king asked of them?” asked the general.
The captain paused and looked over the battlefield.
The general continued:
My father was a sheep farmer; he once told me that
sheep follow orders. He told me there are three types of
people in the world: sheep, wolves and sheepdogs. Sheep
will feed their own to the wolves to save themselves, thinking
they have gained favour with the wolves, but the wolves
don’t care. It will continue to destroy until there is nothing
left to devour, devouring everything and itself in the process
of maintaining control of the sheep using fear.
The sheepdog is like the wolf but has learnt to control its
desires and only uses its aggression when necessary. He
knows he is part wolf, but chooses not to let that part
become his whole being. He chooses to sacrifice no one but
himself for the greatest good.
The sheep may look at him and think he is the wolf and
choose to see only the wolf inside of him and think that his
stopping their sacrifice brings more pain. Only the sheepdog
knows the truth. The wolf won’t stop, and the sheep are
naive to think they can bargain with the wolf.
The wolf uses fear to control the sheep. The sheep fears
losing its life, but it can never truly live until it can let go of
that fear. It’s up to the sheep, who has understood himself,
11to make life safe for the other sheep to find themselves and
no longer sacrifice each other for their own self-interest.
We are not here to take over or follow orders; we are
here to protect the sheep and turn the sheep into sheepdogs,
so they can protect themselves.
This is a land of wolves and sheep. We are here not for
our own self-interests but to free the sheep and to chase out
the wolves, to give the people of this land a chance to find
themselves. Even if they see us as the wolves at times, we
know who we are.
But true freedom is found in letting go of all these roles,
the sheepdog letting go of rescuing the sheep and fighting
the wolf, the sheep letting go of being the victim to the wolf
and looking to the sheepdog for rescuing and the wolf letting
go of persecuting the sheep and being chased by the
sheepdog.
These roles are bred into them, they become their
environment, it’s not till they find the courage to walk away
from everything they have known that they can find true
freedom. Letting go of what’s happening to them and taking
responsibility for themselves and only themselves is the
gateway to peace.
Arthur, you’re a great man and a great leader like the
sheepdog; you have to know who you are and be a man of
conviction, the sheep follow a man who is sure of himself
when they are unsure of who they are. You have to be as
convincing as the wolf and your conviction has to be greater
than their fear if you are to lead them safely.