afterall, i really know nothing

there is sometimes the sobering realization that i've moved away from certain people: certain friends, former teachers, people who i used to think the world of. i no longer see things the way they do, and there's a sudden sense of alienation with my former self. it almost seems that i may have changed enough that i no longer recognize some of the core things about myself.

i'm not them, and i can never really know or even imagine the trials and tribulations they faced in their lives, but sometimes there's just the feeling they could be happier, if they were not still stuck - stuck doing the things, repeating the same mistakes, they have been doing for five, ten, twenty years. perhaps the longer a person's stuck, the longer one will go on remaining stuck.

yet, i know, it's not my place to say anything. who am i to tell someone "if you do this, you will lead a better life?" everything i've gone through, they probably have, multiple times even, and perhaps one day, there will be some young guy who thinks he's figured out everything, and tells me smugly that "if only" i would change a particular habit, my life would be turned around. and i'd just laugh.

in almost all cases, it's better to stay quiet. afterall, i really know nothing. my life "experience" is pretty laughable. so, the only thing to do is to make the times together with them as enjoyable for them as possible.