On will

By: Jack Sellwood
Posted: February 13, 2021

Not this Will.

Will is a finite resource. Once you use it up it’s gone. The only thing that that resets it is sleep (and maybe sex). The opposite of will is what rebuilds it. Opposites attract in that way (recursively). Be careful with your will. If you use too much of it for too long you’ll need more than sleep to bring it back. Will is one of those elusive things like happiness or love. Being too myopic about it squashes it. Brevity and irreverence for it welcomes it.

I suppose will is like an uninvited new friend. It’s not possible to calculate new friendships and at first you may not realize what you’ve got — but eventually you wake up to realize—I’ve got a new friend! With this new friend you can do all sorts of things. Now you have someone to join you for late nights at the diner to laugh and talk over coffee. You have a friend to call when you don’t know what to make for dinner or for when you see something astounding in the world. Friends stroll along usually when you’re not looking. Actually, they stroll up best when you’re not looking. Life suddenly adapts and a new season of invigorating friendship emerges. This friend, for however long they last, needs you for this new season of spontaneity just as much as you do.

As it turns out, your new friend might just be named will.