For David
Five years ago I found myself sitting across from a psychic, in a new city that I'd just moved to—Bellingham. This psychic bode several predictions, and of the sort, there was one in particular that came completely unforeseen to me. I was told that I would meet an older, male mentor.
—
Five years later, I can say now that it was more prophecy than mere prediction. True to what I'd been told, an older man found himself in my orbit (or rather, I in his) and, at the time, I'd found myself a new job. But as time went on, I realized that I'd found much more: I found, in this man, genial humor rare amongst many; true grace, displayed against a chronic health condition; studious sensitivity to the arts of literature and instrumental music; a giving spirit of incredible generosity; a motivating force of real proportions; and a mentor—on life, and how it can be best lived.
—
As of this morning, that spirit for life no longer lives in the body of David, my mentor. It lives now in us, whose lives he touched. And that defining spirit of his is well-captured, I think, in this handwritten note by him. I found it one evening in his home office, while we were sorting through papers together. I read it and pocketed it, having felt a strong sense of truth in its words. But more importantly, it was immediately a memento in my eyes—for I'd been recipient and witness to this man's embodiment of the words. With the memory of his example, I'll carry this note and carry on in life forever inspired.
—
"Two things define us:
Our patience when we
have nothing & our
attitude when
we have everything."