I was recently feeling a little bit sad. I went to bed, feeling quite sorry for myself and my levels of self-worth were particularly low. It was an unpleasant feeling, but I was able to stop myself from falling to an unending pit of depression.
How did I achieve that? Well, let’s just say that I was “haunted by the ghosts of encouragement.” You may wonder exactly what I mean by that, and I feel at this point, I should point out that these are only metaphorical ghosts. But it’s at times like these when my friends are able to help me, without even being there.
Using the power of my overactive imagination, it’s easy to make myself feel as if I am surrounded by my closest friends and to remember the kind words that they’ve bestowed upon me. “Adam, you’re an absolute diamond.” “The fact that there are still good people like you in the world makes me cry with happiness.” “I sometimes ask myself, what would Adam do?” “Never forget that I love you and am always hear for you.” “You’re not like most people, I know I can always trust you.”
Some of those things were said to me long ago, by people who (try though I might) I have been unable to keep in my life. But, ultimately, their words still help me to this day. Though it is always going to be sad when I can’t see people anymore, the experiences I had with them still happened and can live forever in the pockets of my memory.
People tell me I have a good memory, and maybe I do, maybe I don’t (I dunno) but I know I always like to take in exactly how it feels to spend time with people, how their voice sounds, how they make me feel, what mannerisms they have, etc. Then, even if they don’t have time for me or if they move on with their lives, they will always be there when I need them, because I can just close my eyes and remember how it felt and feel good once again.
A bad experience will eventually end, but you can make a good experience last forever.
