I wanted to reshare this story. I shared it over the weekend and I think a ton of people missed it and it is a really good message that I want to send. I added some details in so please take the time to read this slowly and carefully. I know that all of us have dealt with the lowest of lows in our lifetime, at some point. These points in life are simply unavoidable. Once we find ourself in them, we deal with countless emotions. You may lose hope, love, trust, drive, ambition, and possibly all of these at once. I bring this up because I was talking with a dear old friend of mine who I lost connection with years ago and we talked of a very bad time in his life. When we were connected though, we were really good friends. We had a class together in high school and just hit it off. I was a freshman and he was a senior, he was literally one of the funniest guys I knew.
After he graduated he joined the army and I didn't really hear from him for a couple of years. When I was a senior in high school, our paths came back together. We became friends on facebook and as soon as I accepted his friend request I instantly messaged him. We hadn't talked in years and I was very curious to see where and how he ended up! I found out he was not doing so well mentally and physically. He asked if he could call me. It was a little strange the way he asked but I hadn't talked to the guy in like 3 years so of course I gave him my number. I got a phone call a few minutes later and sure enough it was him. We talked for a half our or so, discussing that he was in a deep rut and that he had lost hope. I can't remember exactly what I said but I know that i tried my best to reinforce him with some positivity and let him know that if he ever needed a friend i would always be there. We hung up and I never really thought anything after that.
We have continued to talk here and there in the recent years, and then last night we finally talked about that night he called me. Well, I find out as we talk that he was in a bad, bad place years ago. He was way worse off than I ever would have imagined. In fact, he had lost connection with countless others as well, not just me. He was literally at the brink. However, he informed me for many moons following this, he found love, ambition and most of all, trust, to be the hardest things to build back up once it is lost. He said it was easy to hold this state of mind, it was also the saddest way to live that he can possibly imagine. Finally, he said,that it hit him..that life is far too short and the absolute natural beauty of the world around me and majority of the people in it was way to special to miss out on!
So he slowly gained his strength and courage while also eliminating his ego and the greatest thing occurred... He found how truly special life is once again! From that point on he quit hanging onto the past and accepted it all with open arms. He then realized that the person he truly is, is way too special to change in order to be accepted by the majority and the standards of society.
I found out what sparked his change in his ways last night. We had a conversation that was so surprising and he said something to me that I never thought I would hear form anyone. He had posted a status that seemed like he may have been in a bind again. I reached out to him first in the message and here is how our conversation went:
Me: Man, you need to move on from Dublin and explore man. You have too much heart and ambition. The longer you wait, the longer you will be stuck there man.
Him: Trust me when I say I am 100% brother. This January I am gone!
Me: Good man, you deserve better bro. I wish we had chances to chill.
Him: Appreciate you man. And the day will come soon for us to chill before my move in January. I am hoping to finally get a week's vacation sometime in November. So when it comes you will be one of the first to know!
Me: Do you remember calling me years ago? I can't quite remember what we talked about, I just know you were going through a rough patch and you called me and we talked.
Him: I do remember brother. I was in the lowest low of my life and I needed to hear a positive voice. You popped into my head immediately and I will always appreciate that you picked up for me so quickly. I will always remember that after I finally calmed down and felt better you still made sure that I was 100% before getting off of the phone with me. The saying is "When you are down and out you truly find out who your friends are". Well, I reached out to multiple supposed friends before that day and I literally got nothing. Then, when I reached the danger zone of collapse, you were there for me and I will never forget that. You will never know how much that small conversation meant to me brother. Since that day, I have made a promise to always be there no matter what for any single person who might be in the same situation and need only one friendly voice to possibly save them from the worst.
Me: I'm so glad we talked that day my man. I always wondered what was going on and we just never talked about it. It feels good to finally know man. You are strong no doubt brotha. I'm always here and I'm glad you know that.
Him: Thank you brother and I do know that. I know you know that if the deck is ever stacked against you in any way and you feel down, I am always there 100% as well. Even if it means having to travel straight into the mouth of hell, I am there in a second! Love you bro and hope you have a good one. Be easy and I will talk to you later. Peace
Me: One love brother! Have a good night.
After all these years, I discovered that I saved his life that night we talked on the phone. Who would have known he was that close to ending everything? I guess my positivity and reassurance gave him the strength to turn his life around. In the end, as we are at our closing moments and about to transition to the next stage of life, what would you rather say? That you lived by societies standards and changed who you were to be liked by others? Or that you remained true to yourself and did all you could to love and accept everyone you came across and possibly along the way were loved by a few good people for who you truly were? Once this life is gone, it would be amazing to know that you lived it in your own special way and not for the acceptance of others!
When it's all said and done, their acceptance of you won't mean shit but your own acceptance of how you lived your life will mean everything. Remain who you are at all times even if it means being hated at times because there will always be people who don't accept you but the ones that do make all of the bad times almost completely disappear!
Don't ever be afraid to reach out to someone. Also, don't ever be afraid if someone reaches out to you. It could get overwhelming, but you could be the last conversation that determines if they make it through the darkness or not. Use your time on the earth to spread love and positivity. Help others and be good to yourself. I want to wish all of you endless amounts of Love, Peace and Positive Energy and Hope that today is the start of one heck of an amazing week for you all! No matter what, do your very best to take any negativity that enters your mind and try to find a positive to replace it in any way you can.