Two Mondays ago I was stabbed in the face. Rest assured I am ok and things could have gotten worse. I was stabbed by someone I tried to help for years and this is the first time said person ever did anything like this to me.

However I am not writing this to lament or complain but to talk about something else in relation to this. For context said person stabbed me with a pair of scissors in the eyebrow and the tear duct, narrowly missing my eye to boot. The people in my circle both friend, stranger and even foe alike felt bad that it happened to me. Me, I was depressed because all the years of trying to help this person felt like they were for nothing.

With that said, after I got over the pain, the fear, the shock and the betrayal I felt from that a strange feeling swept over me. You all would think I’m nuts for feeling this way, but that event and the events that followed made me feel more alive than I ever felt in my entire life.

For starters, the day after I got treated for the first part of my injury I find myself playing croquet with friend and foe alike. Now I know how Mario feels when he Go Karts with Bowser.

Second, because I survived my brush with death, those that haven’t taken me seriously before are taking me seriously now. Since when you survive an experience like that and still remain yourself regardless, they see you as one tough motherfucker.

Third, the irony is I feel more safer in my area despite it still being a high crime area.

Yet even I wondered why I was able to take it better than any beating or injury that was inflicted on me before. It wasn’t until I remembered a line from Deadpool 2 by Blind Al.

Listen to the pain. It's both history teacher and fortune teller. Pain teaches us who we are, Wade. Sometimes it's so bad we feel like we're dying, but we can't really live until we die a little, can we?

Now Deadpool took that the literal, by trying to die with hilariously failing results. However I never really got what it meant until it happened to me. The person could have at best taken out my eye or at worst killed me. It was the closest I ever gotten in my whole life to getting killed and yet despite that I not only survived, but my days have gotten better and I feel more stronger than I ever been or could ever be.

Now I am not saying that you should do what I did and get yourself nearly killed in that fashion. But I am saying that if you are looking for a true lease on life, as scary as it sounds, sometimes you need to be close to Death. Do something that gets that adrenaline pumping. However also realize the mortality of your life by listing how worse it could have gotten.

Life and Death are always gonna be with you no matter what. Even if medical technology somehow makes us biologically immortal we need Death. Death isn’t a scary boogeyman out to get you. It’s one of your first and oldest friends in your life and if it’s your time to go it’s not taking you. It’s politely asking you to leave to make room for others whose time’s not up yet.

Me I always called myself Death’s Drinking Buddy. Why? Because so many people I knew, one way or another would wind up dead while I lived on wondering when am I next? It’s happened to me so many times that I jokingly assumed it kept me alive because it was that lonely that I might as well be its drinking buddy.

However when I got that close to it and it still hasn’t taken me, those words became less of a joke and more of a truth. I am Death’s Drinking Buddy. I am proud to be it and despite what you think it entails, I am not immortal. If anything it means in my case it’s prolonging it until either it finds new drinking buddies or is coming up with a special way for me to die that could happen now, a few days from now or even a few years from now. In the meantime I won’t worry about, but keep watching out for it.

In conclusion, stop fearing Death. Doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what religion you worship or lack thereof. The one thing that binds us all as human beings is three simple principles. You’re born, you live, you die. Instead of wasting your time and life fearing or even trying to prevent it. Embrace it. Treat each day in your life as though it was your last. Live it to the fullest to the best of your abilities. Because then eventually when you do die, wherever you go, you’ll find comfort knowing you lived an adventurous, but otherwise good life.

Take care, stay somewhat safe and stay tuned for more.