You’re sick, little fella. You have been for a couple weeks. You take it pretty well, considering how terrible us adults handle sickness. You may get a little grumpy, but you make the best of things. It’s inspiring, really. You don’t think about the future and whether or not you’re going to feel better. You just live. You play and smile and dance and laugh. There’s something lost, as you grow older. I am beginning to realize now that it happens to all of us, at least the ones who aren’t paying attention. The future catches up, and it becomes who we are, always working towards the next promotion, the next vacation, the next relationship; what happens next.
Let’s Just Say I’m Working On It.
I can’t say that I am going to be able to change my perspective, because I have too many considerations now. I am a dad and I have bills to pay so we can live. I have ambitions, because I want our life to be better tomorrow than it is today. I want to create the best possible outcome for you, because at this point, my future is almost completely written. I have my career and my kid. I have begun “the rest of my life.” I am grown up, and I no longer get to say “when I grow up.”
I had an intense passion to do something great; to be somebody; to make a difference in the world. But the passion for greatness has faded; changing the world has faded. It sounds bleak, but it’s actually inspiring. I have a new mission in life, and that’s to make sure you’re better than I am. You will do better things than I will. You will have more opportunities to succeed where I have failed or given up or just lacked the courage.
My life, Not Yours. But…
I am not going to brainwash you with my life and my beliefs. I want you to find your own path, and settle into it early. That way you aren’t in your early 30s being washed up on the shore, having arrived at your destination. I want you to live where I have not and experience the things I have not. But I do have expectations, kiddo, and they’re fairly simple:
- Love people: everyone is unique and living their own lives; celebrate individuality
- Be curious: curiosity breeds creativity and it’s the beginning phase of creation and innovation.
- Embrace your mistakes: everyone fucks up; accept your fuck ups and learn from them.
- Take care of your body: being physically healthy helps to be emotionally healthy.
- Move forward without caution.
There will be more, but I think this is a good place to start. Now it’s time for me to start working on these things myself, kiddo. We’ve got some life to live, and it starts all over again tomorrow.