Time can be your friend

As he done on so many occasions in the past, Campbell lay in bed way after the alarm had sounded trying to motivate himself to begin his day. His mind played tricks with him. It was as if half his mind told him he was retired and thus didn’t need to be anywhere, while the other half told him that time was no longer a friend. He had so much yet to accomplish before he left this earth. Campbell was a typical why do it today if it can be done tomorrow type of person. The only problem with that thinking was that the number of tomorrows began to decrease rapidly the older he became. So now was the time for him to make up for the years of inaction.

Campbell would’ve loved to have stayed in bed, but he knew that would not help him achieve his goal. And what was his goal? He never was quite sure.

When he was younger he read about astronauts and wanted to be one of them. But that meant doing well in school at the very least, but there were too many distractions. Distractions that never served him well. So, that dream had now gone out of the window. Then he wanted to be an author, but the problem was the same. Campbell always wanted to succeed but not work at it. He wanted to write a book which would launch him into the stratosphere, but he never reached the ignition point. Campbell did write several manuscripts though. Campbell wrote several meaningless manuscripts. None of which got beyond the computer and on to paper. They weren’t anything anyone would want to read, not even him.

Campbell had tried not to set an alarm. However, he was so entrenched in his ways that he found it impossible to go to sleep without setting an alarm. He had done so all his life, so why should he stop now. There was no reason. No sane reason he could give himself to break out of his habit. And so, before he turned out the light at the end of the day, he made sure his alarm was set. Sometimes he’d wake up during the night in a cold sweat believe that he had slept through the alarm, but realising he hadn’t he found it difficult to go back to sleep.

“You just need to relax,” a friend told him.

“How do I do that when I haven’t been able to relax all my life?” he believed his friend was being overly simplistic. “It’s not as if I’ve been as successful as you,” he added.

His friend smiled at Campbell as he blew the steam off his ridiculously expensive cup of hot latte whatever. They were both sitting at Starbucks watching the rain come down in torrents with no place to really go. The difference between the two men, now both in their late 60s, was that Robert knew he had no place to go and was quite content with that, while Campbell wasn’t. Robert sat back in his chair with a smile of contentment. Every muscle in his face was relaxed as was his complete body, whereas Campbell’s face had a lifelong grimace on it. His jaw tense, the lines on his forehead deeply pronounced and his body as rigid as was possible without being in rigour mortis.

“Just look at you for instance,” continued Robert who had tried over the decades to get his best friend to relax. “Just look how tense you are, while I’m sitting back in my chair relaxed without a real concern in my life.”

“No, I’m not!” shot back Campbell, not wanting to admit he was indeed tense. Robert allowed his friends remarks to make no impression on him.

“Look how tense your hand is holding on to your cup.” At first Campbell ignored his friend’s remark but then finally looked down at his white knuckles. It was then for the first time he realised that what his friend had been saying to him over the years may indeed be true. He wasn’t ready to admit that yet. Campbell coconsciously released his grip on the cup, removed his hand and placed it on his lap. Yes, indeed his hand was aching slightly from the strength of his grip on the cup. It was the first time in his life he had indeed realised that what his friend had been saying may possibly be true. He was deep in thought. Robert knew that and was quite content with sitting there sipping his coffee and watching the rain begin to slow down. He wanted Campbell to talk first.

Campbell picked up his cup of coffee again after a few minutes and followed his friend’s stare out of the window. “I think the rain is beginning to slow down,” he said stating the obvious. Robert nodded his head and took another sip.

He put his cup down, “what are you doing for the rest of the day?” he asked knowing the response he would get. It would no doubt be the same response he got every time he asked Campbell that question.

Campbell took a deep breath, well aware that his friend was expecting the same answer, “I don’t know,” he began and then stopped for a second. There were a couple of breaks in the clouds. “Would you like to go for a walk on the nearby nature trail?”

That answer threw Robert for a loop. No! It wasn’t the answer he was expecting but one that thrilled him immensely.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea!”

“You do?” replied Campbell quite taken aback that his friend agreed with him.

“Yes of course Campbell. I have been trying for years to get you to relax but you’ve always had an excuse. I would love to go for a walk with you. We have been friends for decades and in my opinion you have allowed the years to pass you by without enjoying life. One of things I have learnt over the years and embraced, is that when we are young, time is your best friend. But as we grow older, time can become our worst enemy, if you let it. What was important to me when I was 20 just isn’t as important to me now. Now life, living each day to the maximum is what’s important to me.”

“But you have been so successful in life,” Campbell interrupted his friend.

“Yes, I have been successful in life Campbell, but my life isn’t over yet. I still have a lot to accomplish and accomplish it I will. It’s just that I will do so with less stress. Always remember that it’s the type B character who achieves the most in life, not the type A. The type A is constantly chasing his tail, not achieving anything of substance, whereas the type B is measured, calm and therefore more successful.”

“So you mean there’s time for me to write that definitive book I’ve always wanted to?”

“Yes, of course Campbell and I know you will. Its long overdue, but you will do it.” Campbell managed a smile and the tenseness in his face softened.

“Ok I think it’s time for me to finally listen to you, Robert. Come on the rain has stopped,” Campbell got up from the table.

“Are you done with your coffee?” Robert asked.

“No, but I can take it with me.”

“I’d rather sit here with you Campbell and finish it first.” Campbell hesitated for a moment and then realised what Robert had suggested was going to be a little more challenging than he had thought.

“Great idea!” and Campbell sat down again. “I’ll give you the first copy of the book when it’s published.”

“Yes of course. I expect that. But you must autograph it.”

Campbell smiled, “you’re a good friend.” Robert was just content sitting there with no place to be at any particular time, enjoying the company of his lifelong friend who he knew to be a great writer.