Zack said...
"Hey Miles, thanks for that. I was sitting in my room trying to wright the other day and I got frustrated because in the story I was writing I wanted to present a change in the main character from standard run of the mill cowardice to courage, but I couldn't do it. I don't have the life experience to know what courage looks like. My youth and naivete was working against me. I always appreciate hearing from guys who have been there and done that. I try to tell my younger siblings how not to make the same mistakes I did in HS and college but then they just go and do it. I can only imagine what my dad thinks of me ."
My reply ...
Sometimes I think just getting out of bed in the morning takes courage, living life in america takes courage. "It is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty,danger,pain,etc., without fear. " - Webster.
Many times fear is in our own minds and for some can be so overwhelming that they cannot even leave thier house. So each of us knows what courage is if we really break it down, we use courage every day . I ,myself, am still young and find out every week how naive I am and to what extent I have lived very sheltered from reality. Bostons writings have shown me this, this forum, and its many wise contributors,young and old, opens my eyes continually . So I have only "been there, done that" based on my jpourney through this life. There are many other folks here who have been through much more than I ,and have experienced life threatening amounts of courage. I find that I learn from people of all ages , but only if I am open to what they have to teach me. My belief in this regard is that everyone ,everyone, who comes into my life ,even if only for a few moments, has something to show me. The hard part is having the presence of mind to be able to recognize and accept the lesson.
" when the student is ready, a teacher will appear."
You made me smile when you mentioned trying to pass along your knowledge to your younger siblings. You will experience this throughout your life. I could only escape the frustration of this when I realized that each of us is on a different journey and sometimes you can talk untill you are blue in the face, with someone you care about, and they will still have to experience the thing you are warning them about, on thier own.
As to your father, remember he too is on a journey through life and looks at everything based on his experience. We males have a complicated relationship with our dads. (As do the females) I myself spent a lot of time trying to please my father, and now that I am older I realize that I made a lot of bad decisions based on that. Now that I am older,and a father myself I can see that at the end of the day he loves me, it may be very deep down inside, I may have dissapointed him, and I know he was pissed at me many times for the stupid stunts I pulled, but he will always be my dad. If you are lucky your dad is at a place in his journey to be able to sit back and look at his children with a sly, knowing, grin.
Miles
PS. If you younguns think this oldun is hijacking your thread just ignore me and I'll go away.