https://youtubetranscript.com/?v=Fcq-pyCvsCU
More than a year and a half ago, I gave myself and all of you a challenge, which is that with your financial support, I was going to try to take this symbolic world thing as far as we could. I took that seriously. And since then, I have posted over 90 videos, which comes to more than one video per week. Through your help, I have also been able to speak at 24 events all over the US and Canada, including four universities and all kinds of events with atheists, some organized by Orthodox or Catholics or Protestants. I’ve also participated in over 25 podcasts as a guest. As of now, my top video has over 180,000 views and we’re just a few subscribers short of 40,000. It’s also with great joy that I’ve come to know you guys, a whole group of adventurers willing to remove their modern goggles, see the patterns. I’ve been blessed to exchange with hundreds of you whose lives are changing as they rediscover how the world is full of meaning. The Facebook group that has popped up and the YouTube comment sections are, in my opinion, some of the most enlightened and fair discussions that you can find online. As many of you know, apart from this YouTube thing, I’m also the only full-time icon carver in North America and one of only a handful in the entire world. I also do volunteer work for the revitalizing of traditional Christian art as editor of the Orthodox Art Journal and I’m on the National Advisory Board of 10,000 Villages, an organization encouraging traditional artisans all over the world. This is where you can see how your support has been helpful. Since this challenge started, my entire life has changed in order to be able to accomplish everything that I put before me. I had to set myself up with better equipment, better lighting, a better computer, software. I have changed my office into a studio and I’ve also surrounded myself with an amazing team of people. For my carving, I’ve hired an assistant, David Gagnon, who does all the preparatory work for the carvings. For my videos, I partnered with Thomas Winant-Van Rizant of the Storytellers channel to edit my movie interpretations. I’m working with a man named Justin Ward, who re-edits all my videos and puts them out as podcasts. I’m also working with a great company called Anomalous Designs, who designed and are running my website, putting up content for me, and also running my own crowdfunding platform from my website. I’m also partnering with them to test out their new service called Content Safe, which in the atmosphere of censoring and deplatforming is automatically archiving and redistributing videos on alternative platforms like DTube and BitChute. So if my videos get blocked, like my Black Panther video recently, you can always find my content on these alternative platforms. And on top of all that, I’m also working with my brother Matthew and a comic book artist named Cornilson on a four-volume graphic novel, which encompasses everything that I’ve been talking to you guys about. All of it in an epic story form, which will be accessible for all. All of this, the time, the equipment, the team, the multiple projects, that is what you are supporting. And without your generosity, there is no way I could have reached this level today. So thank you so much. To me, this is just the beginning. Most of you will have understood by now that this is not about interesting movie interpretations and literary type analysis. There is a huge crisis. And in our small way, and by the grace of God, we want to change the world, even if just a little. Open eyes to the deep understanding of underlying structures behind reality, so that we can begin to care once again about our stories. If we want to save the West, we have to stop complaining about politics, social breakdown, and the growing darkness around us. That’s way too easy. We have to shine some light. We have to renew something which is real. So I still want to do stuff, add transcripts to the website, create new products and imagery for people to share and engage with. I also hope to have original blog content on my website. But all of this is more time and more resources. So if you have seen the benefits of my work, please share the content, engage in the discussion on YouTube, on Facebook, on Twitter. Maybe even organize an event for me to speak at. And if you can, please consider financial support to help me take this even further. Patrons have early access to videos, can ask questions, and join in on a monthly live Q&A. They also have access to private conversations, as well as the capacity to contribute to the choice of the subjects of the videos themselves. So thank you again for your attention, your willingness to engage, and your support. And as usual, I will see you soon.