“It’s fairly adequate to hand out wisdoms when you are leaning against a ship rail and your hair blends in almost seamlessly with that cloudy sky’s silver lining”, he said.
“On land words of advice can easily have a pitiful flavour to them when they plunge from an old man’s withered mouth. On the high seas, however, they complete the intrinsic pathos of a sea voyage just perfectly - at least when there is no land in sight. So, listen to me, son. I want to tell you something. There is only one thing that you need to know in life. Life, life is all about people. No matter what it is, if you can’t share it with other human beings, it becomes painfully irrelevant or gains such gravity that it pulls you down into the darkest caves imaginable.”
The old man paused for a moment and I could tell from his expression that he had seen these dark places one too many times and that the mere thought of them still hurt every single one of his bones.
“But be careful with people”, he went on shaking off the gruesome memory with a smile. “They are needy creatures and if you don’t watch yourself they might drain you like leeches. There was a time in life when I thought that you needed to be sparkly and happy to gather people around you. That people turn away facing the weak and aching version of yourself. But that is not the entire truth. There are also people that are drawn to other people’s agony like moths to a flame. That’s because some people simply are parasites. They live off your state of mind, they ride in your emotional wake. Depending on their nature and polarity, they either need your happiness or your misery to keep their own hearts pumping. If you fail to deliver what they need, the only thing they can do is to look for another host - just to survive. Therefore, the first question you should try to answer is if you are a parasite or a host. Once you have found out, it gets a little easier to steer through life.” He paused again and gave me a gentle pat on the back before he continued. “With our previous conversations in mind, I don’t think you are one of those bloodsuckers. But I do have the feeling that you might be prone to misinterpreting other people’s attention just like I did it when I was young. And this will automatically exponentiate your emotional conditions - which doesn’t have to be a bad thing. When you are in a good mental state, chirpy like a bird and beaming with energy, people will come out of their holes and cling to your heels. This will add further vigour to your high. Once life’s natural sine curve will lead you downhill again, though, the same people will turn away quicker than you can notice and vanish from your ambit. Then it won’t be too long before their counterparts will show up. The people that thrive on your sorrow, that will kick you even deeper into the mud whilst allegedly holding your hand. And there is nothing you can do about it. Believe me. It’s their nature. This is the only way they know. But it doesn’t make any sense to stay away from them either. They are everywhere. And they can still be good people. Just be aware of their nature and make sure that they have no power over you. That’s all you need to do.” Before he went on, he smiled again and and turned around to look at me. “Every once in a while, though, someone will surface whose heart pumps his own blood through his veins. Someone who won’t need you to feed him with life and its ingredients. Someone who accompanies you on your journey. And this person will get really close at times but might also fall back a little occasionally or lead the way. His motor, however, will always run under its own power even if you will feed it with some extra steam sometimes without even realising. And these are the people who will add a great sense of relief to your existence. They will make it all worthwhile, believe me. You, my friend, I’m sure, are going to meet many of those people. Just make sure to open your eyes and admit to yourself that not all kinds of attention are signs of affection and that real affection can also be very silent and passive. But it’s getting windy out here. Let’s go inside, you might want to join me for a cup of hot coffee.”
"Every man has inside himself a parasitic being who is acting not at all to his advantage." ~ William S. Burroughs
"Every man has inside himself a parasitic being who is acting not at all to his advantage." ~ William S. Burroughs
