The Preacher Pt. 2

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February 7, 2019:


"You remind me of me," the man who introduced himself as 'The Preacher' spoke. "I was lost once too-tended to overthink too often, read too much into things, worried a lot about what people thought of me-the list goes on and on. You know how I overcame all this?"

Sangwoo shrugged.

"I stopped thinking in grays, and began thinking in blacks and whites."

The younger male raised an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

The Preacher sighed. "I mean I stopped thinking about everything as a spectrum. Often, the best solution to a problem is the simplest, and requires the least amount of thinking."

Sangwoo drew in a ragged breath, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "I can't do that. I have a lot of expectations to meet, and in trying to meet them, I'm having to think in between the lines, or beyond a binary, if you know what I mean."

"So you're a people pleaser, eh?" The Preacher's face held what looked like a pained smile,. "You're done for, then."

"The job I have involves me constantly being on my toes, making sure I never make a mistake," Sangwoo said, picking at the grass he found next to his shoe.

"You must be working for a big company then," The Preacher patted his back. "I hear work pressure is enormous. Poor workers don't know how to contend with horrible bosses, an overly competitive workplace and the nonexistent work-life balance that seems to permeate through our society these days. A real shame, if you ask me."

"You sound like you speak from experience."

"I don't want to brag, but..." he leaned close to Sangwoo and whispered, "I was a top soloist once upon a time."

'You were a singer?" Sangwoo couldn't believe what he'd heard. The Preacher was an artist like him?

"I was at one point," the older man confirmed. "Then some things happened-not that that's important-and I became unhappy with what was going on, so I switched jobs."

"So you became a priest?" Safgnwoo couldn't help but notice the cross around his neck. Not to mention, the robe.

"I'm no priest, but I did choose the path of righteousness and all that." The Preacher touched the cross pendant, gazing at it lovingly. "That's how I met my wife."

The love the old man had for his wife still shone through his voice, and it made Sangwoo think about his mother. "You must love your wife very much."

"I do," The Preacher agreed. "She's the one who taught me to see less grays and more blacks and whites."

"Isn't thinking and having a thought process like that kind of redundant in today's world though?"

"It can be, but only if you're using it in every situation and to justify your actions in those situations. Every situation isn't black and white, that's for sure-that can never be the case."

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