If you’re interested in the wisdom of experience, I’ve got some words for you. I did the peculiar thing that I sometimes do and asked an older man to hit me with some important things he had learned.

“Who we are is who we are going to be,” the older man said, his face rigid with the wrinkles of certainty and experience.

“These lips are mine and are the same lips I used to excuse how I wasted my youth. Putting off things I should have done. Listening to what people say instead of watching what they do. ‘I’m gonna’ is for sure one of the dumbest things we say to convince ourselves that talking about it is the same as doing it. And when we hear other people say it, most of the time we know they’re not gonna. Stop drinking. Stop smoking. Not waste money. Get out and enjoy life where they can. How do I know? Because if they wanted to, they would be doing it now instead of talking about what they’re going to do. If we ain’t doing it today, we ain’t gonna. You gotta work with what you have and stop waiting for the perfect day. You might not get another sunrise. Nobody never got anything done by waiting for it. Don’t waste your time arguing with people or the world. Likely you can’t change them. Wanting things to be another way is like trying to get full by smelling what’s cooking on the stove. The fewer things you want or think you need will get you pretty far.”

“Anything else?” I wanted to give him the chance to add if he wanted to.

“Nah. If somebody can take two or three things out of all that and do them, they don’t need much else.”

I thanked him and told him I hoped he would have a good afternoon.

“I will. I’m going to sit down and do nothing. It’s amazing how far doing that can get you most of the time.”

I laughed. He was right.

About all of it.

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