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I had a theory that we gravitate toward the stories we need in life. Whatever we’re longing for—adventure, excitement, emotion, connection—we turn to stories that help us find it. Whatever questions we’re struggling with—sometimes questions so deep, we don’t even really know we’re asking them—we look for answers in stories.
Love stories had lifted me up, delighted me, and educated me on the power of human kindness for years. I knew a lot about love. A lot more, I bet, than all the people who took it for granted.
“My wife left me on the day I found out I had cancer.”
Omg???? Wtf
I hadn’t thought of that. “It is?” “Believing in things that aren’t real? Making something out of nothing? Connecting dots that don’t need or want to be connected? That’s what all the best writers do.”
“It’s a video game,” Charlie said, “where you power-wash things.” Then he pressed some keys, and a jet of water started spraying in first-person point of view, as if he were holding a power hose. Charlie turned the hose onto a dreary gray sidewalk, and as the water moved along, it left a bright clean section behind. The hose also made a deep, brown-noise shushing sound, and once all the dirt was gone, the game made a very satisfying ding sound and gave him some points.
Omg I love this lol
“Whatever story you tell yourself about your life, that’s the one that’ll be true.”
“Here’s another thing I accidentally figured out: happiness is always better with a little bit of sadness.”
If you wait for other people to light you up, then I guess you’re at the mercy of darkness.
“If I were in love with her, I would.” I blinked. “He’s not in love with me,” I said. “He told me he wasn’t.” But as we pulled up to the Biltmore valet, Logan just said, “I can’t believe you fell for that, either.”
UGHHHHGGHGGFGHHHHGHGG
Tragedy is a given. There is no version of human life that doesn’t involve reams of it. The question is what we do in the face of it all.
“Choose a good, imperfect person who leaves the cap off the toothpaste, and puts the toilet paper roll on upside down, and loads the dishwasher like a ferret on steroids—and then appreciate the hell out of that person. Train yourself to see their best, most delightful, most charming qualities. Focus on everything they’re getting right. Be grateful—all the time—and laugh the rest off.”
“There it is. The whole trick to life. Be aggressively, loudly, unapologetically grateful.”
It’s all about the details you notice. And the joys you savor. And the hope you refuse to give up on. It’s all about writing the very best story of your life. Not just how you live it—but how you choose to tell it.
