Short Fiction--The Guy Next Door: Part 6

"This way," he continues, "I'll be debt free in under two years!"

"You're going to love the feeling," I assure him with a big, broad smile. 

"It's all because of you, you know."

"Yeah?"

"Yes. If I hadn't met you, I'd still be stuck where I was instead of plugging away towards where I'm headed. You inspire me."

I inspire him. My lifestyle, he means. I've heard this before over the course of the last five years as I've been floating free, following my heart. Gave up the job, gave up the house, and stripped down to one key and one bill, began living a mobile, ultra honed life. 

Honestly, though, I think what attracts most people is the physical freedom I've achieved. GND is tired of working. I feel his pain. He's within sight of the finish line and those last miles are proving to be the hardest. He wouldn't do it the way I've done it, though--not in a million years. Most wouldn't, and I wouldn't necessarily advise them to. 

Pro's and con's to everything, I suppose, and never ever having had much of anything it is easier for me to live with little to nothing than it may be for others.
Besides, I'm deeply spiritual, in that I strive to live in spirit. 

Spirit, from the Latin word spirare, meaning "to breathe". Interestingly, the word inspire etymologically stems from the same root and means, literally, “to breathe into". 

Guess that's what it's like when our paths cross with someone else's, two currents brushing over--or through--one another. Some are stronger than others and we are moved off course by them. Off...plan, if you will.

GND's a planner. He's absolutely a gotta-have-a-plan kind of guy--well, actually, that's not true. He's got to have Plan A, Plan B, and--I kid you not--Plan C, just in case. He has to run risk assessments on every scenario, even on potential friends. (I, MIRACULOUSLY, passed.) He's that kind of guy. It makes him nervous to operate plan-less, like navigating in unknown territory without a map, or worse, shopping in a Super--Got-It-All-Mart without a list. 

Can't knock him; his planning has worked for him in some vital ways that my lack of planning hasn't served me.

I'm not a planner--not like he is. It's not that I don't plan--I'm an organized person with a structured, but simple, life. I'm just more of an idea person, you might say, a dreamer. And, it's only fair to confess that I dream big.

I understand that this characteristic can be overwhelming to some folks. This is where complimentary partnership would have benefited me, beyond those that were based solely in compatibility. Without the benefit of that exterior balance, however, I had to learn a different approach in order to acquire something similar on my own. So, though it may appear that I sort of wing it, I do actually consciously adhere to a semblance of a plan, only one that's got a healthy contingency. 

It happened years ago, when I found myself bumbling, feeling like I wasn't making much headway. I felt like I had been walking in circles or stuck on a treadmill. I had to do something versus nothing, because I'm prone to resistance, and, subsequently, to stagnation. I just didn't want to be like that anymore--trapped by my mind, and its associated emotions. I felt stifled and restrained and only had myself to blame. I decided to get out of my damn way. 
So, I did. 

When the only thing that's truly dependable in life is its constant changeability, expanding one's perception of what's possible versus worrying about what's probable is a valuable lesson. And, with practice, I am getting better at not letting me inhibit myself. 

If I'm understanding him correctly, he is, too. 

Better late than never.