Dear Tommy:

You are welcome and thank you for your kind words. Unfortunately, I am not that smart. I am smarter than I used to be, that’s all. Hopefully, I will be smarter tomorrow than I am today.

“One cannot convince a person of something they wish not to listen to or not to believe in” – and therefore, one should stop trying to convince. I wasted decades of my life reaching out to a person (my mother) who never wished to listen to me. More recently, I reached out multiple times to a casual friend who similarly never wished to listen to me. When I realized this dynamic, I finally stopped reaching out to him and my policy now is that IF he reaches out to me, then I respond to the extent that matches his effort of reaching out to me.

There is a strong, enduring thirst in me to be seen/ heard by those who won’t. I need to contain this thirst.

“I know that I can only change myself. Hopefully for the better” – same here, for the better!

anita