Tonight I had dinner with a close friend. We have known each other for 27 years but the mere duration of our acquaintance does not really do any justice to our bond. From the start we have been as close as brothers — something profound, but also simple. It is slightly embarrassing to acknowledge it because it is so fundamental, but it is also joyful to affirm it, and we always do.

The conversation was emotional and more meaningful to just us than it could possibly be to anyone else reading this. Everyone needs someone they can be completely honest with, in some cases more honest than with any partner, and perhaps more honest than with themselves. Everyone needs a friend who inspires you to be that honest.

Life is cruel and kind, empty and full, ugly and beautiful. The patterns of fate form and reform, and its wild combinatorics align and dissolve. I don’t want to turn it into a religious statement, or a spiritual one, or even be too poetic about it, but it is good to recognize how powerless we sometimes are, and how powerful we can feel, all at the same time.