Things Get Worse

It’s true. It’s going to happen. With the exception, maybe, of the ultra-rich (though I hope not), in the endless forward, backward, downward motions of our lives, we’re going to hit walls. And swamps. And any number of other unpleasant things, a lot of which you’ll have walked into willingly. Loved ones will hurt you and you will hurt loved ones. You will miss opportunities––someone else will take them. You will waste uncountable hours of your life. You will regret so much you’ll regret not remembering it all. In plain and unfurnished English, you’re gonna fuck up. That’s the bad news.

The good news is so will everybody else. The good news is that the fuck-ups will make you recognize fuck-ups other people are going through. The good news is that you’ll reach a crossroads where you can take those fuck-ups and bury yourself in them, jade yourself to the world so it never hurts you again––or, you can take these fuck-ups, and add them to your fuck-up vocabulary, and use this vocabulary to help other people with theirs. The good news is you’ll choose the latter, because the good news is that you’re a good person. The good news is that your friends are good people too. The good news is that seeing all the world has to offer means seeing the whole barrel, even and especially the bottom, so much that some days you’ll look around and wonder if bottom is all there is. The good news is that it’s not.