Love thyself as you would others
By: Phil Safari on May 19 2009Category: Story
Phil Safari, a reluctant Candidate, must prove himself worthy to the gods by completing a Heroic Task: change 1000 lives for the better… or else! This is an episode of the philosophical sci-fi webserial, the Safaris.
I was giddy. All my cares fell away: the Heroic Task, the gods… everything. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this happy. Evie was so full of life, and it was infectious! She made me feel that anything was possible. This could a delusion, a dream, but I didn’t care.
No, I didn’t spend the night…I guess I was a little scared to. I didn’t want to screw up a good thing, and I wanted something to look forward to, to keep me going. I was too excited to sleep, so I decided to wander the streets and survey the late-night scene. This was an alien world to me, and I found it fascinating. I began to wonder how many other things I had missed out on these last 10 years. I really need to get out more.
As I walked, I was inundated by flashes of insight. Thoughts that had been floating in the back of my mind for years suddenly crystallized into insights in rapid succession. I had never thought so clearly in my life! Perhaps, the past decade wasn’t wasted; after all, I did change the lives of 700 people…700! If you told me that fact 10 years ago, I would have laughed in your face. It’s all a matter of perspective.
Speaking of perspective…I strive to be fair to others, but have I been fair to myself? No. Now that I think about it, I’ve always been my own worst critic. I vividly remember the failures, but I can’t always recall the success stories. Regardless of the result, haven’t I grown in fits and starts with every experience? I’ve been so fixated on other people that I’ve hardly noticed, but clearly, I’m a very different person now than when I first started. A better man in many respects. I guess it really is possible to be too unselfish.
So I guess Athena’s right; I needed to start helping myself. I do have some abilities, and it’s high time to figure out how to maximize them. Hey, it can’t possibly be worse than what I’ve endured already!
As dawn approached, I was at peace. I hadn’t formulated a masterplan or anything, but at least I knew what needed to be done next. And really, that’s all that matters. Planning is all well and good, but life must be lived one step at a time.
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