I knew I shouldn’t do it. I just knew it. It was too dark and too high and completely unclear if anyone had ever successfully pulled it off before. But those risks also meant glory awaited the bold one willing to try. 

Nobody would have called me bold. Mostly, I was just plain irrelevant. The irrelevance didn’t bother me, but I had started to view my lack of gumption as a personal flaw in need of correcting. 

So I jumped.

And yup, I was right all along.

The darkness had obscured an army of rocks nestled just below the water’s surface.

The pain was tremendous; the blood was everywhere; and then, just like that, it was all over.

Even those who claim to want advice almost certainly don’t want it. They simply want someone to listen and ask appropriate questions. Nothing more. Nothing less.

For the first time since October ‘17 and possibly since spring of ‘12, I feel normal. 

I can’t be sure of the date because time is fickle and memories are unreliable. This, I’ve learned, is especially true with bad memories: a natural defense mechanism shades the past in a positive light (i.e., when you are not sick it’s damn near impossible to accurately recall the feeling of being sick).

(more…)

Nervousness is merely an indication that on the other side of the current confrontation is a possibility of accomplishment.