500 WORDS, DAY 72: Different Cirumstances

It’s cool how, even though we try to control things and shape them however we want, life always has a way of making us slow down and appreciate its beauty. When we think we have a routine in place, when we think we have our way of life figured out, life comes out of nowhere and reminds us that we shouldn’t be so hard on ourselves; that, although we have learned to live in a better way over time, we were once somewhere else, living as totally different people, and that some aspects of who and what we used to be were valid, and maybe are still valid to this day, to who we are and to our life as a whole. Today I had some beers with my wife, my youngest brother and a good friend of his, at the local pub right beside the park outside my house. My brother and I talked about some of our creative goals and plans, since he is a gaming YouTuber and an overall creative person, who in many ways reminds me a lot of myself. It felt good to just have a good moment with my wife, who I love more than anyone or anything else in the world, as well as my brother who I’m glad to be really close to, and his friend, who I don’t know too well but who I trust to at least be a good person since my brother knows him. Today really reminded me that, even though things like alcohol can definitely be harmful for a lot of people, when used in the right circumstances and with the right frequency it does serve its purpose, which is one that is so important to us and to our lives, that of connecting with other people and having fun times together. The problem is that a lot of us don’t know when to stop or take a break, both in the sense of a specific day, as well as throughout the course of life in general. Although we might understand that things are usually better for us when not abused, we don’t think of this during the specific moments when we decide to let ourselves get carried away in a haze of alcohol or any other substance. Because we’ve maybe had previous issues with certain substances, some of us would indeed do best by steering clear of them altogether, but that doesn’t mean that, in general, these substances should always be avoided, altogether, by all people. It’s a shame that a lot of us can’t control ourselves, or that we are not mindful enough of our own behavior, so that we allow bad situations to arise from our drug use, but in the end we do have to recognize that substances have no hidden agenda. We are the ones using them and we are the ones who are responsible for what we do under their effects, since we decided to undergo these effects. Drugs are not to blame for our mistakes, and we shouldn’t judge people who do choose to use them, even if we don’t fully understand them. Now, this doesn’t apply only to drugs or substances. We should always try to understand why people do what they do before we judge them, even if our own experiences tell us that they are definitely wrong. Many people can experience similar things in very different ways.