Gus (Bright Side, #2)

by Kim Holden

Solitude doesn't foster happiness, at least not for me. Not at this point in my life. It's not that I really want to be around people either, but that I need to be busy. And I don't need to think about this job. I can just do it.

Sometimes, punishing yourself is easier than facing down your demons,

my screwed-up mind always turns everything back around on me. I'm always to blame for people treating me badly; it's how I've lived my life. People I love don't know how to love me back. They hurt me. That's how they love. That's how they love.

Sometimes you have to listen to the things that people don't say.

You only get one chance at this circus called life. Don't sit in the crowd watchin' it happen. You jump right in and be the ringleader. That's where you find your fire."

Here's the thing about life, boy. We meet a lot of people along this journey. Some of them are sonsabitches and some are special. When you find the special ones you don't take a moment for granted, because you never know when your time with them is gonna be up.

"If you only listen to one thing this crazy old lady tells you, I hope it's this: ain't nobody gonna stoke your fire but you, boy." She looks at me hard with her grey, cloudy eyes. "You go make life happen."

life is all about embracing the good and making the most out of the good moments, even if they're fleeting.

I'm at the tipping point of a transformation that began months ago, an intentional decision put in motion. And it feels so fucking good. I've come to the full realization that my happiness, my life, falls squarely on my shoulders. No one's gonna do it for it me. I'm the one who makes it or breaks it. It's a choice. A choice that demands action in exchange for reward. Idleness and complacency lead to mediocrity. Sometimes action is really fucking hard-fought, but that's when the payoff's the highest. That's when great things happen. Not good things…but epic things. And I've fallen in love with epic. It's the only way to live.