Sometimes You Have to be Alone
(excerpt from "Sticky Rice is a Dessert")
July 1998
Part III
Never leave an empty glass of wine, cherish every sip as though it is the first.
Never finish a cigarrette if it is your intentions to let the embers burn into the butt.
Never regret the past, for it will become materials for your memoirs and interesting anecdotes for your eulogy.
Never sell yourself short because your self worth is more than any fables of fortune.
Never depend on others for happiness because the constant of yourself will always be the root of all joys.
Never question others becaue the answers can only be found in yourself.
Never question yourself because the constant of humanity is already embedded in you.
Never live for others because they can never earn your life.
Never neglect a child because the mirror reflects yourself.
Never be disappointed in others because your standards are unfair and biased to the rest of the world.
Never take life for granted because you are dealt only one- as far as we can tell.
Never let a day go by without living, because life is the measure of existance.
Never forget to smile and cherish what you have.
Never believe that a chapter is an ending, but instead an opportunity for a plot to emerge.
Never close your eyes to the brilliance of your soul.
Never let a day go by without knowing who you are.
Never question the world until you can answer yourelf.
Never forget that conventional beauty is subjective to the mediocre average of the masses.
Never forget the importance of family because there is a little bit of yourelf that lives within them.
Never live in the past, becaues you will waste the present.
Never dwell on others because the only value resides in yourself.
Never take your bread in big gulps and mouthfills because there is enough time to cherish the basics of living.
Never forget that true value is measured against the comparisons of yourelf.
Dedicated to:
Sean (the Deus), because one day you will understand and truly believe these words in your heart.
Jason (the Mantis), because your time to discover life is soon to come.
Nick, does some of this sound familiar?
Arthur, for helping me to realize the power of one flame.
Edmond, for showing me the innocence of first love.
Anny, in always standing by me with acceptance, since JHS.
Allison, for helping me understand that a world where everyone is in agreement is not worth fighting for.
Glenda, for showing me that one never fights a war alone.
Ronny, for teaching me that people will treat me the way I allow them to.
Vanessa, for showing me that expectations of others are an arrogance in my imposition of beliefs and values onto others.
(12/13/91)
To Johnny,
for teaching me the importance of fighting for the value of me... the hard way. With tears fueling the fire that burns within me, you have TRULY proven that adversity lends a double strength to its survivors.
