Former Kent resident takes global trip of understanding<\/b><\/p>\n
Gary Garner says he spent the first part of his life in the pursuit of money and material gain, but he wants to finish life in a much different way.<\/p>\n
His new goal is to die homeless and penniless.<\/p>\n
The 13-year Kent resident was a successful businessman who owned two consulting companies and a local restaurant until five years ago, when he decided to give it all up in pursuit of adventure and something larger than himself.<\/p>\n
\u201cI woke up one morning, and I decided I didn\u2019t want to do that anymore, so I sold everything, and what I couldn\u2019t sell I gave away, and I just left,\u201d Garner said over coffee March 18 at Kent Station.<\/p>\n
He is currently back in the state, promoting the book he has created from five years of journal entries, photos and sketches. Called \u201cThrough the Eyes of Madness,\u201d the book chronicles his life over the last five years, a life lived completely \u201coutside the box\u201d and mostly outside the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cI decided I was pretty darn good at making wealthy people wealthier, and I thought there must be a better way to use that skill,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The idea inspired an international trip that would take him to dozens of countries across all seven continents in search of a way to better the world<\/p>\n
and find fulfillment. After selling his businesses and material possessions in 2003, Garner began his journey by buying an around-the-world plane ticket.<\/p>\n
He started in Central America and continued country-hopping from there, staying largely with locals as he traveled in order to experience each culture as vividly as possible. His trip took him to places far beyond his initial expectations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI nearly died climbing Mount Everest,\u201d he said, listing off a few of his harrowing adventures, which are now chronicled in his book. \u201cI was surrounded by an angry mob in Nepal in the middle of their civil war. I was mugged by some interesting characters in the Costa Rican jungle.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he traveled, he said he also learned about the needs of people around the world and started to focus in on what would become his mission \u2014 to help feed and educate children on every continent. He said he learned the most from the Maasai, a warrior tribe that resides in East Africa.<\/p>\n
He was staying in a Maasai village when he learned that the students in its school were only allowed to do one math problem per day in order to conserve a single piece of chalk, the only one the village had. After asking the village chief\u2019s permission, Garner bought school supplies for the village.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Maasai people are some of the most content, happy people I\u2019ve ever seen,\u201d he said. \u201cThey literally live in dung huts, but they\u2019re still totally content with their way of life. That really taught me the most about how we aren\u2019t the ones to tell them what they need. We need to be sensitive to the ways we choose to help them and the things we give them.\u201d<\/p>\n
That experience and others along his journey inspired him to compile the detailed entries he had kept in his leather-bound journals, his photographs and his unique artwork into a book. He called it \u201cThrough the Eyes of Madness,\u201d referring to himself and his seemingly crazy new way of life.<\/p>\n
Garner is now using the self-published book to further his cause of worldwide education by marketing the book and artwork from the book and donating the proceeds to various charities around the world. Eventually, he hopes to start his own charity for the cause.<\/p>\n
His efforts seem to be getting attention.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are going crazy over this whole thing,\u201d Garner said. \u201cSome just love the photography and the artwork, but mostly people are just caught up in the adventure of doing something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was recently invited by the Utah-based, non-profit film company New Eye Productions to promote his book and artwork during the company\u2019s \u201cSynchronized Green Initiative\u201d concert during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Ut.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is a remarkable individual,\u201d said Lela Newey, co-president of New Eye. \u201cYou don\u2019t really find a lot of people who are really living their words and living their dream. Gary seems to be reaching out and really caring about making a difference. And the guy can really get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garner said he also attended a pre-Grammy Awards party at the invitation of non-profit record label Oasis Entertainment to help promote his cause, and he has been approached by several other media representatives about doing a variety of projects. A documentary film featuring Garner is currently in the works for PBS, he said, and a Hollywood producer has contacted him about designing a reality TV show around his travels.<\/p>\n
His book has been a success so far, he said, and already he has been able to contribute to the education of children on three of the seven continents. The success of the book, he said, is thanks in part to its adventurous story line, its unique artwork and a mysterious, \u201cDa Vinci Code\u201d-like element he incorporated into its pages.<\/p>\n
During his travels, he hid what he calls \u201cartifacts\u201d on each of the seven continents. A code hidden throughout his book, when deciphered using the book\u2019s interactive Web site, www.throughtheeyesofmadness.com, leads readers to the clues. Once all the clues are found, Garner said, they will lead to a sort of \u201cburied treasure.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI won\u2019t say what the treasure is, but it does have significant monetary value and also something of a more spiritual value,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
As for the future, Garner plans on releasing one book or other similar form of media every three years, continuing to chronicle his international journey, promote his cause and flesh out the code that will lead readers to the \u201ctreasure.\u201d He said he doesn\u2019t plan on settling down anytime soon.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will never go back to the old way of life,\u201d Garner said. \u201cBeing homeless and without possessions has totally changed me, and I think it\u2019s an amazing way to go through life.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he would recommend people try a least a tamer version of what he did, but he doesn\u2019t think a life of wandering is for everyone.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost people don\u2019t have the extreme nature that I do,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if the average person could go and do this for just six months, they would come back and never be the same.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more information about \u201cThrough the Eyes of Madness\u201d or to buy the book, visit www.throughtheeyesofmadness.com.<\/p>\n
Contact Daniel Mooney at 253-437-6012 or dmooney@reporternewspapers.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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