Need Life Motivation?

This is a letter that my father wrote to me shortly before he died. He contracted HIV through a contaminated blood transfusion in the 80s and passed when I was five. I have a few pictures of him from my family, a knife and compass he left me, and an old outboard boat motor that doesn’t run… And this letter. I share it in the hopes that it helps you, my fellow redditors, in whatever capacity it can. Cheers.

[blockquote source=]”My son,
Seldom in my life have I been lost for words as I am now. I still remember when I held you in my arms for the first time. Your little hand may have grasped my finger, but it captured my heart. I have been the best father I knew how to be. Raising you and your sister has been the most rewarding experience in my life.
 
This world is filled with so many things that I wish I could be there for you to experience, but that is not how it will play out. I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am for leaving you. It was never my intention, and if there was anything I could do to prevent it, please believe that I would.
 
There will be days when you blame God, me, and maybe your mom. You will curse and scream and cry, but you won’t find any answers in anger. The measure of a man is not what he owns but how he owns himself. Accept that I have passed, and know that I will always be with you. No matter what you do in life, you will always be my son. I am proud of you. Keep after your mother and sister while I’m gone.
 
I love you.
Dad”

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Here are the top comments that stem from this thread.

• Welp you made me cry.
• ‘A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.’
• ‘Smooth seas don’t make good sailors’
• ‘Don’t give up what you want most for what you want now.’
• ‘A year from now, you’ll wish you had started today.’
• ‘The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.’
• ‘If you’re not fucking up you’re not working.’
• ‘Everyone is the main character in their own story. Make it a good one.’
• ‘Quit over thinking it and just do it!’
• “The world does not owe you a living, you owe the world something. You owe it your time, energy and talent so that no one will be at war, in sickness and lonely again. In other words – grow up, stop being a cry baby, get out of your dream world and develop a backbone not a wishbone. Start behaving like a responsible person. You are important and you are needed. It’s too late to sit around and wait for somebody to do something someday. Someday is now and that somebody is you.”
• “Someone once told me the definition of Hell: The last day you have on earth, the person you became will meet the person you could have become.”