the only freedom you have in this life stands in the level of importance you place on things

Last time I saw him
it was

I think

six days ago

not exactly a full weak

He was down bad
and that's
putting it mildly

His tragedy was the
tragedy of so many others

Wife left
and took the kid with her

Nothing new under the
sun

What is new under the sun
however is the way
he deals with it now

In these six short days
the man had
reached enlightenment
apparently

"You want a drink?" he asked
me

and I said, "Man, I thought you
quit after..."

"Nah. I didn't quit."

He mixed his favorite. Beer and
tequila
and passed me a glass over the
coffee table

I thanked him

One thing I was sure of

The man was not drunk. Not at
all

So it must've been something
else that
helped him recover and get
over the struggle

After the first glass
I asked him what it was

And he said, "Giving up."

I said nothing. Just
watched him

"Only the things you label
important can
hurt you. If it's not important to
you, it can't possibly hurt. That's
the secret to happiness and
everything."

"Well, you seem pretty happy now.
And I can tell it's
not fake.
So, how do you stop yourself
from making things important in life
when it happens involuntarily?
One can't just label one's family as
not important, right?"

"Wrong, young man.
The only freedom you have in
this life stands in
the level of importance you
place on things, including yourself.
You will be able to do it
when you learn and accept that
it's the only way."

Yeah, one day I'll
get it

but
I don't think today's
the day

I don't know

Many thanks to LatinosUSA —English edition for featuring my poem, "the only freedom you have in this life stands in the level of importance you place on things"!

Check it out HERE!

Thank you!