A young man and an old man were sitting in the office. The young man drank strong coffee, the old man drank equally strong cognac, lovingly warming it in his hands and sensitively feeling the aroma.
- How can I be of assistance, young man? – asked the elderly man, narrowing his eyes in a fatherly manner.
“Help me become like you...” the young man became embarrassed and took a sip of coffee.
— Do you want to become a writer?
- Yes... Teach me!
- Don’t you want to become God? – the old man suddenly asked.
- No... I want to become a writer...
“One cannot exist without the other...” the elderly man answered incomprehensibly, shook his gray hair and stood up heavily from the oak chair. He walked along the bookshelves, looking long and lovingly at the spines of numerous books, then took a blank sheet of paper and placed it in front of the young man:
-What do you see? What image appears before your eyes when you see a blank sheet of paper in front of you?
- Image? – the young man looked at the old man in surprise.
- Yes, an image. You have to see an image of something, then start changing it until you love it, until it becomes a part of you. So what do you see? Tell me...
The young man thought for a moment, his eyes clouded over for a second, a look of stupefaction was reflected in them, and he replied:
- I see the desert... Scorched, blinding, white, and the sky is hot to white above it and... and the sun, burning the earth in rage...
-What else do you see? - asked the old man - Take a closer look, look around!
- A black dot in the distance... There is a man, he is exhausted, his clothes are worn out to holes, he is about to fall from fatigue, there is a weapon in his hands... He has such piercing eyes on his dark face...
- What does he carry in his soul? Fame? Evil? Good??
“It carries pain and sadness…” Tears flashed in the young man’s eyes..
The old man took the pencil and carefully placed it in front of the young man (student?), then said quietly:
“Now write this down, write down what you saw...” the young man grabbed a pencil and feverishly scribbled on the paper, filling out line after line with even handwriting...
- Now read it to yourself. Have you read it? And think, who is this man? Should he live or die? Find a cure for your sadness or go into oblivion with it... Let you sink to the bottom or let you save the planet? Should we give him strength or cowardice, will he cope with himself and his enemies? – the elderly man fell silent for a while, collecting his thoughts...
- You have just discovered your world... Now you are responsible for it, you are its creator... That person is waiting for you.... – then the old man smiled.
- Now you are GOD...
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru