@VirgoSquared
21 Years
Article Published Last Month
Betting On Your Own Life
"What you have is worth more than what you want my friend. Give up what you have, you could end up with nothing," my sixth grade chess teacher Mr. Robinson always insisted. I was hardheaded. Without fail, I would get into an obviously drawn position with another student, throw caution off the highest building as I put the draw on the line and played for the win. It drove him crazy, because he knew playing for a win inherently entails risk of losing, since the person unsatisfied with their lot has to disrupt stability with bold moves if there's even to be the possibility of winning. One evening he sat beside me after a game I had just lost. Fiddling with a bishop and rook, he looks at me and says, "Bright one! A draw is worth a half a point. A loss, zero. You had the split point. Don't you know a bird in hand is worth two in the bush!?"
I've grown to hate platitudes, especially this one. The way it revels in an excuse for complacency. It's like the pompous fashion critic in the department store, fast talking you into a suit three sizes too small, standing back stating, "There! Aren't you handsome?" You grimacing at the miserable reflection in the mirror. Tugging at the choking collar and pulling down the sleeves. Make all the adjustments you want, comfort will remain elusive until you listen to the one person whose opinion really matters. The person who knows you best. You!
Life is inundated with choices. Everyone of us reach a point where on one path, reasonably stable but meager in fulfillment, another regards us speaking of a potential for happiness. The catch is there are often corners you can't see around. Fog, trees, and a myriad of other obstacles that skew clarity. That bind certainty of decision with pessimism, leaving you standing at a fork in the road hopelessly indecisive. Scratching your temple with your hand over your brow squinting into the distance for some sign of assurance, some symbol to guide.
We all reach a point in our lives where ?all we are? looks up to the night's sky with open arms questioning ?all that is,? "Where does a human go?" When choice stalks two paces behind incessantly poking your side and tapping your shoulder, annoying as the children in the back seat heading to Disneyland, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"
There's a guy that frequented a coffee shop I used to work, and when time allowed. I would stand behind the bar and listen to him share the "this and that's" occupying his life. This particular day, he entered rather preoccupied. He worked as a computer programmer, taking on assignments, pulling in around seventy grand a year. Comfortable living, definitely, but was he happy? He had this urge to start his own business. Actually, urge would be like calling the sun a candle. I watched him sit on a stool for about three hours, sipping a hazel nut latte, expressing; filling his words with a craving heart about this immense drive within to take another path. A few months ago, I got an email from him. He went for it! He worked odd jobs until he got a position outside his expertise in a firm that would give him experience in his desired direction. He took a fierce pay cut, but, he knew what he needed to be happy. Sure, isolated, my friend's situation is modest, but from a grander perspective, at sometime or another, it applies to all of us.
Several years ago, I grappled with a decision between doing what I wanted to do with my life, versus continuing to do what I believed others expected me to. I was a physics major, but at the same time, I was drawn to creative writing. I sat on my couch at the abysmal hour of three in the morning, staring at a back pack full of homework on one end of the coffee table; and a notebook, bursting with dreams and incomplete imaginings on the other. I sat in between, a deer in the headlight
"What you have is worth more than what you want my friend. Give up what you have, you could end up with nothing," my sixth grade chess teacher Mr. Robinson always insisted. I was hardheaded. Without fail, I would get into an obviously drawn position with another student, throw caution off the highest building as I put the draw on the line and played for the win. It drove him crazy, because he knew playing for a win inherently entails risk of losing, since the person unsatisfied with their lot has to disrupt stability with bold moves if there's even to be the possibility of winning. One evening he sat beside me after a game I had just lost. Fiddling with a bishop and rook, he looks at me and says, "Bright one! A draw is worth a half a point. A loss, zero. You had the split point. Don't you know a bird in hand is worth two in the bush!?"
I've grown to hate platitudes, especially this one. The way it revels in an excuse for complacency. It's like the pompous fashion critic in the department store, fast talking you into a suit three sizes too small, standing back stating, "There! Aren't you handsome?" You grimacing at the miserable reflection in the mirror. Tugging at the choking collar and pulling down the sleeves. Make all the adjustments you want, comfort will remain elusive until you listen to the one person whose opinion really matters. The person who knows you best. You!
Life is inundated with choices. Everyone of us reach a point where on one path, reasonably stable but meager in fulfillment, another regards us speaking of a potential for happiness. The catch is there are often corners you can't see around. Fog, trees, and a myriad of other obstacles that skew clarity. That bind certainty of decision with pessimism, leaving you standing at a fork in the road hopelessly indecisive. Scratching your temple with your hand over your brow squinting into the distance for some sign of assurance, some symbol to guide.
We all reach a point in our lives where ?all we are? looks up to the night's sky with open arms questioning ?all that is,? "Where does a human go?" When choice stalks two paces behind incessantly poking your side and tapping your shoulder, annoying as the children in the back seat heading to Disneyland, "Are we there yet? Are we there yet?"
There's a guy that frequented a coffee shop I used to work, and when time allowed. I would stand behind the bar and listen to him share the "this and that's" occupying his life. This particular day, he entered rather preoccupied. He worked as a computer programmer, taking on assignments, pulling in around seventy grand a year. Comfortable living, definitely, but was he happy? He had this urge to start his own business. Actually, urge would be like calling the sun a candle. I watched him sit on a stool for about three hours, sipping a hazel nut latte, expressing; filling his words with a craving heart about this immense drive within to take another path. A few months ago, I got an email from him. He went for it! He worked odd jobs until he got a position outside his expertise in a firm that would give him experience in his desired direction. He took a fierce pay cut, but, he knew what he needed to be happy. Sure, isolated, my friend's situation is modest, but from a grander perspective, at sometime or another, it applies to all of us.
Several years ago, I grappled with a decision between doing what I wanted to do with my life, versus continuing to do what I believed others expected me to. I was a physics major, but at the same time, I was drawn to creative writing. I sat on my couch at the abysmal hour of three in the morning, staring at a back pack full of homework on one end of the coffee table; and a notebook, bursting with dreams and incomplete imaginings on the other. I sat in between, a deer in the headlight
Virgosquared, first off congratulations on getting your article published and oh that lovely feeling of sauntering/swaggering:-)!! into the shop to buy your beauty!!!
Wish I could express myself so well - you have certainly a gift with words - and that's so good. People don't always understand that words alone express and shape reality.
I'd give yourself a pat on the back and consider it a job well done man.
It's given me a jump-start for my day:-).
A x
Wish I could express myself so well - you have certainly a gift with words - and that's so good. People don't always understand that words alone express and shape reality.
I'd give yourself a pat on the back and consider it a job well done man.
It's given me a jump-start for my day:-).
A x
Awww, thanks Alana.
It's a bit idealistic, but . . .it applies.
"Way with words." lol. Have you read your post. There like fire and lightning. Try to be around more, you make a day lovely to say the least.
Thanks again,
Hugs and hugs.
VirgoSquared
It's a bit idealistic, but . . .it applies.
"Way with words." lol. Have you read your post. There like fire and lightning. Try to be around more, you make a day lovely to say the least.
Thanks again,
Hugs and hugs.
VirgoSquared
VirgoSquared,
I send congratulations as well in regards to being published. What a delightful piece, it is thought provoking, and brimming with inspiration.
It certainly stirs desire while igniting fire within to follow a true path for oneself. It certainly had that affect on me. What a well written article, Thank you for sharing it.
You are a very gifted writer, and it is abundantly clear that you have chosen the right path for yourself in life.
Tw2
I send congratulations as well in regards to being published. What a delightful piece, it is thought provoking, and brimming with inspiration.
It certainly stirs desire while igniting fire within to follow a true path for oneself. It certainly had that affect on me. What a well written article, Thank you for sharing it.
You are a very gifted writer, and it is abundantly clear that you have chosen the right path for yourself in life.
Tw2
Congratulation! Good start kid. Keep it up.
Hey. Thanks you guys. Glad you like it.
BigDad. Kid? lol
Yeah, all right.
27 going on 80 old man 😉
VirgoSquared
BigDad. Kid? lol
Yeah, all right.
27 going on 80 old man 😉
VirgoSquared
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Anyway, I'm just looking for genuine feedback. There are a few run ons, but primarily I'm curious about opinions on the unbridled idealism the piece instigates.
VirgoSquared