He looked tired.
Not the kind of tiredness that doesn’t come from a long day at work,
Nor the kind of tiredness that you feel after running thousands and thousands of miles,
But the kind of tiredness that drains you over time
As if you were carrying millions of weights that no one but you can see
He sat down on that stool like as if those millions of weights had been pushing on his shoulders all day.
I’ve been a bartender for years, decades even. Throughout the times I’ve made drinks, cracked jokes, and cleaned spills, you start to learn how to read people.
Some people come for a drink.
Some people come for the fun of it.
Some people come because they don’t know where else to go.
I wiped a glass on my hand, and asked him the usual question.
“What’ll it be?”
“…”
He didn’t quite answer me right away.
He just stared at the hundreds of rows of bottles behind me like as if those bottles knew the answers to questions he struggled to ask.
Finally, he said a word.
“Do you have anything that makes life easier?”
Now, you see,
I could’ve laughed.
I could’ve made a joke.
That’s what those good ol ‘bartenders are supposed to do.
But instead, I leaned on the counter,
settling down the already polished glass,
and said something I’ve learned from watching millions of people walk through that door.
“Yeah. I do.”
“Perspective.”
He looked up at my face.
As if he was looking at the sky, shimmering with hope, interested on what I’m gonna say next
You see, every night I watch people come in here thinking their life is over.
Y’know,
Bad day at work, Broken relationship, Crushed Dreams,
like as if they have hit rock bottom,
Telling themselves that they will end their lives today.
But then the next night?
They walk back in.
Still breathing.
Still standing.
And that’s the funniest thing about life.
You think the stormiest, and the rainiest of nights are just the end of the story.
But those storms aren’t the end.
They’re just weather.
You’re stronger than the darkest nights you had.
You’re bigger than the loudest clap of thunder you made.
And tomorrow has quite a funny way of showing up whether you’re ready or not.
So if you ever feel like that man who walked into my bar all tired and lost as if he was unsure where to go next, remember this:
The fact that you walked into these doors means you kept going.
And sometimes…
That’s the most heroic thing a person can do.

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