Taking the first step
The city wasn't sustainable.
"Send him in," the mayor announced into the telephone speaker. He leaned back in his chair, preparing to embark upon the nonsensical ideas of one of the local schoolteachers. The guy had been calling and sending letters for years, and the mayor had finally agreed to meet with the man.
The double doors were shoved open and a tall figure entered the office with a cheesing grin entered the office before the heavy doors shut behind him.
"Mr. Malloy," the mayor said, "have a seat."
"Thank you for taking the time to see me, Mayor," the man said before pulling back one of the wooden chairs in the spacious, high-ceilinged office. In addition to the schoolteacher and the mayor, two other well-dressed men sat on either side of the room. Mr. Malloy gave them both a nod as he noted the fresh, delightful shampoo scent in the room. He felt like he was in a salon.
"So what it is that you have been dying to talk to me about?" the mayor asked.
"Our city isn't sustainable. We're relying heavily on outside-aid, barely pulling our own weight. Our children are growing up learning that all they need to do is wait for help to come. There have been many dreadful days in this city of us simply waiting to be helped, and it seems we may be deteriorating as a civilization," Mr. Malloy spoke calmly maintaining sharp eye contact with his city's leader.
"I have two things to say to you off the bat," the Mayor responded, "the first is obvious. We needn't ever panic about sustainability. The Humanity Club is everlasting and will ALWAYS be here for us. Second-Each and every time upon receiving help from the Humanity Club, our town always becomes more productive. So what do you propose we do, Mr. Malloy?"
"We need to deny their aid," Mr. Malloy said confidently.
"Absolutely not. We've tried that before, and we almost saw a riot. Why would we stop receiving their help when they've been proven to have excelled millions of cities?"
"We aren't growing as a society! We are drug addicts with Humanity Club being our drug! They come here and build houses and malls and new innovative jobs, but none of them of ever last long! Imagine how strong we would be as a society if we didn't ever need the Humanity Club? What if we could become the Humanity Club?"
The mayor rolled his eyes at the schoolteacher. "It's not that easy, pal. As I said, we, along with many other cities, have tried to pull our own weight without Humanity Club. It becomes intolerable for most, and violence always erupts. Whatever your perception of a good plan is- you aren't factoring in the inevitable murderous destruction that shall arise."
"Violence only arises because we are all indefinitely waiting on the intermittent arrivals of the Humanity Club! It's too random and not sustainable! IT'S NOT SUSTAINABLE, MR. MAYOR!" Mr. Malloy yelled, causing the two men at either side to rise from their chairs.
The mayor waved the men off. "I understand your passion about this, Mr. Malloy. But talk to me- how do you logistically your plan following out?"
"It's that line of thinking that is killing our town! We try and predict the entire outcome of every new venture, and when it gets challenging we decided to move on to another idea without even beginning! We're frozen and we're killing the kids!"
"Okay, so let's say right now I call the Humanity Club and tell them to stop visiting. Bye-bye Humanity Club. Then we announce to the city that we are going to have to start working harder and then the murderous violence. We would be insane to expect anything other than that to happen."
"We will set a date and prepare the town. We will let them know how much stronger we shall become without them. If we nail down all the positive benefits that will manifest, I believe the city will welcome the new change," Mr. Malloy said, his temper becoming more moderate before looking down at the mayor's phone. There was an obnoxious flashing green light that just came on.
"Speak of the devil," the mayor said, "The Humanity Club is here. What do you think, should we tell them to leave?"
"We need to set a date! We cannot surprise the city, for that's what causes the murders!"
The mayor pressed a button on the phone and moments later, smoke began filling the room, its potent stench masking the room's salon ambiance.
"Now just breathe that smoke in there, Mr. Malloy. Don't you feel so much better?"
Mr. Malloy began choking. "I don't like the effects of weed, so no, I don't. We are not only abusing our city and children with this behavior, but we are also abusing our entire human."
The mayor takes a deep inhale of the smoke, letting out some quirky nose coughs before choking the rest of the smoke out. "So move to another human. What's got you so obsessed with fixing Human Terry?"
"This is my home human. I will die for this Terry, do you understand?!" Mr. Malloy asserted.
"Look- you're not an inspirational teacher, Mr. Malloy. You're an all-around inspirational brain cell. Why don't you run for office? You could become president," said the mayor.
"We need to set a date. It's not just our city that's unsustainable. Human Terry is unsustainable. We cannot keep relying on the Humanity Club," Mr. Malloy said calmly before exiting the office.
It was only the beginning of the year and Terry already felt as if this year was going to be his worse one yet. He was only getting older and fatter, slowly deteriorating in his parents' nest. He was seated in an extremely slouched position on his computer chair, reading news articles that were only adding to his stresses. Terry reached for his bong and grinder and began loading a bowl of marijuana. He took a deep hit, letting it out slowly.
His tolerance was not even allowing him to enjoy the weed anymore. He had been heavily smoking for years now and it seemed like he only got high for maybe two seconds. What was the point?
Terry decided that in seven days, he is going to take a break from weed. He doesn't know where it will lead him, but he decides to take the first step.

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Achieving Serenity
Short StoryThis is a compilation of short stories, each centering on a different principle for improving one's life. Often times I hear a good quote or lesson and wish I could read a story that illustrated them. With the new age of instant gratification, I hav...