If those harbor lights had just been a half a mile inland, who knows what I would have done.

I’ve always approached my life from the angle that walking through one door of opportunity can only lead to a multitude of others—it’s just that until you’ve walked through that first door, you can’t know what any of those others will be or where they’ll ultimately lead. Hence, change has always exhilarated me more than frightened me; made me feel more alive than apprehensive. Sure, I experience feelings of anxiety as much as the next guy, but for me anxiety is more exciting than unnerving. That unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach reminds me of roller coaster rides and bungee jumping, not plummeting off of cliffs or, I don’t know, falling out of the sky in an airplane.

What’s more, I’ve always regarded my current position in life—wherever that may be at any given moment—as not only the unfathomable, almost untraceable result of all of the doors I’ve previously walked (or even been pushed) through, but also of all of those other doors I’ve considered walking through but ultimately passed by in favor of others that were more attractive or more favorable at the time.

I guess that’s why I’ve always had a really hard time comprehending people who are incapacitated by the prospect of extreme change or upheaval. Sometimes, it’s like I just want to shake them and say, “Don’t fear this, embrace it! Who knows when next you’ll be faced with such opportunity, such possibility! Don’t forsake opportunity for fear of regret! Don’t forsake the prospect of ultimate pleasure for fear of immediate pain! You can do this, and what doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger!

But I don’t do it, because enthusiastically spouting clichés and Hallmark sentimentality is not how I choose to express myself. But regret is not something I’ve ever understood, and hence have a hard time relating to people who are experiencing it. And so, rather than saying something potentially alienating, I choose to just stare and nod, stare and nod. Which of course is then interpreted as a lack of interest or empathy. So which is worse: disinterest or alienation? A lack of empathy or making it known that the way someone is feeling is completely foreign and incomprehensible to you?

Either door is the same to me, so what’s better for the other person?