In Twenty Years... Will We Be Friends?

Yesterday I had a conversation with someone I used to know. It started off reasonably enough but soon got into irritating territory. I was trying to explain something and it was plain that they weren't even trying to understand and, instead, suggesting that I should see it his way.

I know I try to see the way others see the world as much as possible. Being empathetic is important when it comes to understanding someone, and that's part of being friends with someone right? I mean if you don't understand them how can you claim to know them in any detail?

Recently I seem to be encountering this more and more, both in what my friends tell me and the conversations I have. I find the same thing with almost everything; take religion for example: how is it ok to tell people what you think about God but not listen to what they believe in return? I've had this done to me and, honestly, it didn't make me want to join them.

So what if you're trying to tell someone something, explain a choice you made in your life, for example, and you can tell that they're not even trying to understand it? Should you keep trying to explain? Or should you drop it and move on? And what if it happens with everything? Should you drop them as a friend? I mean they're telling you how they feel and you're not refuting their ideas like they're rubbish so why should you put up with it yourself?

And what happens if it's not a friend but a family member? Honestly, it's ignorance warped into pigheadedness (which unfortunately is quite common). If they are a family member, do you have to listen? I would say that you should listen but take opinions with a bucket-load of salt. It's your life, at the end of the day it's you that has to look back in twenty years and assess whether what you did was good enough. I say this, though I have never had the problem myself, and cannot possibly comprehend what it's like to be told what I should do with my life.

Recently I saw a picture while browsing with the words:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

I was sat staring for a minute and was mesmerised by the words. I guess it ties in with the idea that you need to begin living life for yourself because you are the one who has to live with your choices.

I write this blog for myself predominantly. I know there are those of you who read it, but I would still write it even if you didn't (not that I don't appreciate your presence of course). I write because I enjoy it, and I've always thought that's the difference between success and failure, if you're passionate about something you're more likely to stick at it, no matter what the odds.

I see money as a thing of little worth. I'm not sure if that was because of my upbringing or because it has brought me little happiness in itself. I value knowledge, I value love, I value friendships and all much higher than money. That doesn't mean I wouldn't like to be rich one day, I just don't need to be. I'd like to achieve my dreams and to go on all those adventures that my mind reels at.

The only question left is: Do I have the courage?