I have this old friend. We haven’t worked together in over five years, but every time I hit him up for a few beers, he shows up. He almost never says no.
In a world where everyone is obsessed with “busy-ness”—grinding for promotions, drowning in responsibilities, or hiding behind family duties—having a friend like him made me wonder: “Why is he always so ready?”
One evening, while we were sitting across from each other, I finally asked. He looked at his glass, the golden liquid reflecting in his eyes, and started telling a story from five years ago.
Back then, he had a best friend. One morning, that friend called and invited him over for a few drinks that night. He turned him down because of some “urgent” work—the kind of work that, looking back now, he can’t even remember if it was actually important or not.
That afternoon, he got the news. His friend was gone. A sudden, fatal accident.
He described the moment as a silent earthquake. Everything around him went still, but his inside was collapsing. Shock. Guilt. Regret. Why did I say no to the one invitation that turned out to be our last?
Since that day, he made himself a promise: If someone I genuinely care about invites me, I make the time. I rearrange my schedule. I show up. I don’t leave things unfinished.
I’m not telling you this to encourage a drinking habit or to tell you to say “yes” to every random invitation.
This is a lesson I’m trying to practice every single day: Life is impermanent. When a moment feels right, be fully present in it. Live it so deeply that regret doesn’t have a place to breathe in your mind.
So that if one day you have to leave this Earth, you can look back with a grin and say: “Wow, what a hell of a ride!”
Keep following Ahaalife.com for more “Dusty Diaries”—short stories to help you pause, breathe, and look at the world with a little more warmth.
