I have a good friend of mine (not a buddy, not an acquaintance, but a genuine friend) who once told me, "Paul, I love you because you make me a worse person." When I finally pressed him about what that meant he said, "You keep me grounded." There was one day when he had a rough night and got back at about 8am. I was drinking wine and finishing a paper. He came in, and said, "Is that alcohol?" I nodded. He walked up to me, grabbed the bottle, and took a long hard swig. I asked, "Hard night?" He simply nodded. We spent the next hour drinking wine and swapping stories. Finally, I went to Calvin, and he skipped class and went to bed.
The thing is though, that in his own words, I convinced him to "drink in the morning - a conventionally bad decision", but one that taught him to realize it is his life, a life he has to live for himself, and find peace for himself.
I may be a wino-existential mess, but I try to keep things real. I try not to hide my faults. I try to see the good in people. To give them the best advice I can. To urge them on toward their dreams. To urge them not to accept mediocrity. Take a risk.
When you grow old, what will you regret. The risk you took or the risk you didn't take?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment