To * *

Dad, what does “our deepest fears are that we are powerful beyond imagination” mean?

Well, son. Let me begin with a story about a great man in my life. Actually before that... You see that brown dog across the park? It’s got so much energy. Look at it, running endlessly across the oval!

But watch as it slows down and starts resting. Once it’s satisfied its goal, say the ball it's chasing or to scratch an ick, it'll stick it's big tongue out, flop on the ground and rest. But this man!... He had endless energy fueled with intensity and determination. He did not rest!... Oh, I was blessed to have in my life.

It’s different to what you see online. There's some great people made even greater with thought out angles, shots, music, filters… It changes how you see things. This man however... I saw him raw and in as many different settings you can think of. You know what? I'd go as far as calling him my best friend but not the best friend I always wanted. He told me things I never wanted to hear 99.99%! But he said it so I could be a better version of myself. The best friend I needed!

Son, these friends... You only meet so very few in life. And It’s like your bound together for life.

This man… I’ve only seen a few others in person like him in my life. Twice. On stage at those conferences where they talk about life and all that… He and the speakers had a lot in common. They did almost nothing half-hearted. It was do or do not. They believed small things scaled into big things: how you picked up rubbish lead to how you lead a country. Or how you did your bed influenced how you raised your family. They held such strong unwavering beliefs. And believe it or not, his beliefs stood against the strongest opponents in life… The test of time… And the fear of death.

You know… I asked him. “What overall advice do you have for raising a child?”

“Teach them what is right or wrong very early,” he said. I've met a very small number of people who had similar traits... Or gave off similar energy to him. When I asked them the same question about raising kids, they told me similar things.

"Teach them what is right or wrong." Man, as a kid, I hated hearing these kind of things. Being pushed someone else’s opinion of ‘right or wrong’? No thanks. I remember thinking I was the smarter kid because I believed having firm 'right or wrong' beliefs lead to less individuality. Like a sheep following sheep. As a kid, most of you all think freedom is the most important thing, right?

Well… The older I got, I began to understand his sentiment more. Yes, strong values do get you through tough times. It's like you always have something to fall back on.

Remember that big fight I had with mum? If I listened to what made me feel the most free, maybe you and I wouldn’t be here like this. Sitting at a park. Just enjoying being here.

Still... Even in my early 20s, ‘teaching kids right or wrong early’ didn’t quite sit well with me. Maybe it was my inner child inside, still protesting!

Son, I know you like Batman. There’s that quote... I forgot who said it. “Die a hero or live long enough to become a villain.” I had thought this quote was for good people who caved in to things that bad people are always portrayed to crave. Money, fame, world domination or something like that. The older I get, I realise every human being has some things they want... but they just can’t have.

Well… The older my best friend and I became… The more his health started to get affected. But he never let go of his firm moral sense of what is ‘right and wrong’. He never caved in. But there were just some things that were beyond his control. He was human after all. Alzheimer's for example. This disease... It's like mind control in superhero movies. The bad guy takes over the good guy by taking control of their mind. When the baddie mind controls the goodie, they make them do things they don't want to do. Like taking over the city. Or robbing the museum or something.

But there's just some things that you can't forget. Even when you're losing your mind. It's like a really really faint light in the dark. Like your own name. Your first love. To my best friend... It was his relentless discipline that he mastered: to never cave in. He was one tough guy. But that bad guy... When he took over his mind, he took advantage of my friend's discipline. Made him use that discipline to make life harder... And he just couldn't snap out of it because that was his biggest strength... To never cave in.

So yeah, to answer your question... We don't realise how much power we have until it's too late sometimes. Like when you hit that wall in your room because you were angry at mum and you put a hole in it. We're lucky to realise sometimes! We're lucky to snap back. But there's other times... where you just watch from the side line. Bitter sweet. Helplessly watching them disintegrate into oblivion.

So how do you stop someone before it's too late?

I don't know son. I don't know.