Episode 10: Jason Klepko

Carnivore… and Beyond

I am a restless soul with a penchant for adventure. Ever-curious for new experiences, I’ve worked many jobs, from carpentry and construction, to driving trucks and even crewing on commercial boats. My most satisfying jobs were as an Alaskan fishing guide and as a guide in the Florida Keys. One of my most rewarding jobs was being a counselor in a wilderness therapy program for at-risk youth and young adults, which appealed to my love of serving others and satisfied my passion for psychology and behaviorism. A lifetime of combating and coping with anxiety and depression myself, fuels my compassion for others and my curiosity to know more about the workings of the human mind. Along with a lifelong pursuit of knowledge through personal study, I went back to school in my mid 30’s and studied psychology at the University of Central Arkansas. Human behavior and the human mind are among the subjects most fascinating to me.

A kind way of describing me would be to say I’m a thinker, a dreamer, and a wanderer, compelled by wonder and curiosity and a thirst for adventure. One could also argue, rather effectively, that my variety of jobs and directions in life might simply describe me as unstable, unsettled, unfocused. There might be truth in that, but when circumstances seem tedious or life begins losing its luster, I yearn for new horizons to explore. I never tire of asking the next question or exploring the next curiosity. I’ve lived a sometimes challenging, but rewarding life. I’ve sought to use my own mistakes, errors, and lessons as an opportunity to learn and grow, and I try to share the wisdom gained to serve others.

As elusive as objective and rational thought may be, I’m driven to discover it wherever it hides. I don’t think I’m alone in this: I haven’t found “true happiness”, contentment, or enlightenment yet, but I know it’s out there. I’ll keep looking. I’ll never have “all” the answers, but that doesn’t stop me searching for the ones I can find. Daily, I remind myself, “I’m only human”, and I’m in this world completely surrounded by a bunch of other “only humans” who seem consistently unaware of that simple fact; they too are ONLY human. While we’re all “only human”, flawed and prone to error, and often victims of our own egos, hubris, and individual cognitive dissonance, I also remind myself daily, what a magnificent and blessed thing it is to be “human”; even if… only.

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