First, some background music. I recommend "Disparate Youth" by Santigold, "Settling It Off" by Peter Wolf Crier, or "Die Slow" by Health. All are on YouTube and Spotify. But really, just pick a song that inspires you. It's cool, I can wait...
OK, ready? Set. Go.
You might find that life will take you on some unexpected paths. Life is going to throw you curveballs. Serious curveballs. Plans will be destroyed. Hopes and dreams quashed. I don't mean for this to depress or scare you. I mean for it to prepare you. To inspire courage in you when the proverbial ish hits the fan in your life. Because it's inevitable. What isn't inevitable is how you react. You can curl into a ball and let life kick your ass, or you can fight back.
I highly suggest the latter.
You might find yourself abandoned and isolated in the dead of winter, with nobody returning your phone calls, curled into a ball on the floor of an empty house, in a city you despise, with nothing but your loyal dog and a music collection you've been building since you were twelve to keep you from completely losing it. You might be hours away from your friends and family. You might hit bottom. Then you might fall through and realize that wasn't bottom. But eventually, you'll find your bottom. And it will be beautiful. It will be the most pure, innocent, inspiring place you've been since childhood. Because once you're there, you can only go up. And if you play your cards right, you'll be able to turn it into an opportunity to build the life you've always wanted. The life you've always dreamed of, instead of the life you've always settled for.
"You will pay for your new soul." - Trail of the Dead
At times, you might find yourself thinking that there is no hope. That's where you'll be wrong. And that's when I want you to remember this email. At that moment I want you to remember me. I want you to remember that as long as you are still breathing, then there's some life left in you, and it's your duty to fight with all you have to make it the best life possible.
If you need to, email me. Call me. I'll give you my number. Because sometimes we find ourselves in the most bizarre circumstances where a complete stranger is the only one we can fathom asking our most personal questions.
In your darkest moment, whenever that happens to come, I want you to conjure the warrior inside yourself, rise up, and show the world what you're made of. Fight back. Fight with gusto. Fight like your life depends on it.
Because it does.
And then, you might find yourself.
Cheers,
Chris
[email protected]
@chrisboyddotnet
New Orleans, Louisiana, US