This is a personal story from Gary:
Life is cruel. It is.
It will throw some big shit at you. It's inevitable. Things that you never expected. Things that are unfair. It will keep throwing shit at you, with no rhyme or reason.
So, it's important to build your personal resilience. To cope with life, to keep your head above water. And maybe even flourish.
Life can also be kind. It 'can' be kind.
That kindness is usually in the form of kind words or kind deeds from friends.
Having good friends is one of the things in your toolkit that help you build your resilience.
You'll find that when life throws you a proper shitfest, having true friends is one of the main things that matter in life.
The thing is with friends... you can choose them, as they say. Choose them wisely. Nurture them. They are so precious. Keep the ones who are objective and can challenge you. Good friends will be honest, even when it's stuff that you don't want to hear. Listen to them. They will understand why, and forgive you, when you are acting like a knob sometimes. The good ones are the ones that will help you survive and grow, even when (or maybe because) life is cruel.
And guess what? You are never too old to make good friends. Maybe it's even better to make good 'older' friends.
My simple advice after an incredibly shitty 2020:
Thanks to all of the good friends/souls that got me though 2020.
Love,Gary.
