The Sun Also Rises on NO

The sun is high and the wine is good, but the work remains. You asked about saying no. It is a hard thing to learn, like a clean shot in high brush, but it is the only way a man keeps his soul.

Most men say yes because they are afraid. They fear the silence or they fear that people will stop asking. So they fill their days with the business of others. They go to the parties they do not like and they speak to people they do not respect. They drink the cheap gin of "maybe" and wake up with a hangover of regret.

But to say no—a real, hard no—is a clean thing. It is like the edge of a well-honed knife. When you say no to the things that do not matter, you are saying yes to the thing that does. You are protecting the work. You are protecting the light.

A man has only so much juice in him. If you give a little here and a little there, soon you are dry. You become a shell, and the shell makes a hollow sound when the wind blows through it.

Do not be a hollow man. Look them in the eye. Do not make excuses. An excuse is just a lie you tell to be polite, and there is no room for politeness in a life lived truly. Just say, “no.” If they are your friends, they will understand. If they are not, their opinion is like the dust on the road.

Say no and get back to the desk. The bull is waiting. The sea is waiting. The blank page is waiting.