Philoscifi

On the brink of destruction, the world desperately needs a Hero. 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! The following is part of the Safaris – a collection of Phil’s misadventures in Heroism. Find out how it all started and what he has learned about love, life, and the pursuit of happiness.

I was giddy. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this happy. This could all be an illusion, a dream, but I didn’t care. Evie was right. I had been doom and gloom for far too long; it was time to embrace life.

She was so full of life, and it was infectious. Everything fell away: the Heroic Task, the gods… everything. I didn’t have a care in the world. She made me feel that anything was possible.

No, I didn’t spend the night. Not that I was scared or didn’t want to… okay, maybe I was a little scared. I didn’t want to screw up a good thing, and I wanted something to look forward to, something to live for. Time as I knew it ceased to exist. There was only time with Evie and without.

I didn’t go home immediately; I was too excited to sleep anyway. Instead, I wandered the streets, surveying 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 due to my stupidity.

I had never thought so clearly. Things that had been floating around in the back of my mind suddenly crystallized into insights. The past decade wasn’t wasted as I had previously thought; it was all a matter of perspective. I had changed the lives of 700 people…700! If you told me that 10 years ago, I would have laughed in your face.

I always strived to be fair to others, yet was I being fair to myself? I was my own worst critic. I remembered the pain of the spectacular failures vividly, but what about the success stories? And success or failure, hadn’t I grown in fits and starts along the way? I had been so fixated on other people that I had hardly noticed, but clearly, I was a very different person now than when I started, a better man in many respects.

Athena was right; it was time to stop selling myself short. How could I achieve my potential if I never properly credit my abilities? I may only two years left to live, so I’d better get cracking!

I didn’t know exactly what the next phase of my life would be, but I did know what the next step was. And that’s all that mattered. Baby steps …one step at a time.

If you liked this, share!
Email or post to social networks

Link here
Simply copy and paste the code below into your web site (Ctrl+C to copy)
to get a link that look like this: Love thyself as you would others

<a href="http://www.philoscifi.com/safaris/story/love-thyself-as-you-would-others">Love thyself as you would others</a>