Andy: The Inspiration...

I was having a chat with an ex of mine the other night, and we were talking about inspirational people.

Naturally, I cited many of history’s prominent figures, such as Ghandi, Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King.

“Why?” she queried, raising an eyebrow somewhat suspiciously. I was wondering where she was heading with this.

“Because they furthered a cause, suffered through adversity and changed the world as we see it.” I concluded with a smug smile.

“Is that the only way to be inspired?” She asked, “Do people have to alter an entire globe in order to be inspirational?

“You were an inspiration to me” she said suddenly, catching me off guard.

“Me?” I ventured, again wondering where the hell she was going with this. I could feel myself shifting uneasily in my seat.

“Oh, absolutely.” She said. “After we broke up, and I had heard through the grapevine that you were buying a house with [wife].”

“Ohh… kay” I tentatively answered.

“That inspired me a lot.” she continued.

“How?” I queried. I was thinking that perhaps she was inspired by my “grab life by the horns” attitude; that I simply wasn’t content to accept a comfortable place in life and I moved ahead, regardless of its fiscal hurdles.

“Well, I heard you were buying the house together, so I went and bought my own house… on my own.” She stated.

“Okay, go on…”

“I wanted to prove to you that I didn’t need to buy a house with someone. That I was okay on my own.” She expanded.

“So… you’re effectively claiming that I was an inspiration to you, simply out of spite. You wanted to spite me, and that in turn inspired you?”

“Yep” she concluded, a satisfied look on her face.

The rest of the evening was a bit hazy, but I think I spent a lot of the time putting my head into a pillowcase and swearing a lot.

It’s not exactly a top feeling to know that someone is actually in a better place in their life because you left them out of yours…

In a way, it’s kinda amusing, though…