you're already dead

This is terribly important.

One of my best friends once called me and asked me to accompany her to a doctor's appointment.
She was a little nervous about it and wanted my support.
I told her that I couldn't, because I had work, and hadn't asked for the day off.

There are unexpected times when who we are fundamentally gets called into question, and I think the only thing holding us back from being exactly who we want to be is fear.
Fear of losing something that we're afraid we can't get along without.

In cases like this, we must live life like the best soldiers live war - as though we're already dead.
Live as though we've already lost our job.
Live as though we've already lost our favorite possession.
We must be able to look at other side, to imagine life WITHOUT the thing we're afraid to put at risk, and decide that YES. WE CAN live without it, that life WILL go on.

We must never suffer our possessions' power over us.
We MUST be able to fearlessly prioritize our integrity, our character, our ideals, ABOVE our possessions.
Every single thing you own or have can be sacrificed given an urgent enough need, and it is that FEAR of LOSING what we have that will ultimately corrupt us and turn our souls.

After I hung up the phone, I thought about it. What kind of man do I want to be?
I decided that I want to be the kind of man that never says "I'm sorry, helping you is inconvenient right now". I looked at what I wasn't ready to risk - missing a few hours at work - and was terribly disappointed in myself.

I called her back and told her I would be there whenever she needed me to be.