Oppugn

To be a skateboarder,
you have to be okay with pain,
the pain of falling off the skateboard.

You have to be okay with the skinned knees,
bruised elbows, broken tailbones and concussions.

This is willingness to accept pain
is what separates the skateboarder from the wannabe
just like it separates the professional from the amateur
in any vocation.

There are a lot of people in this world
that like the idea of being something until they are faced
with the painful costs of becoming that something.

While I get the sentiment,
Charles Bukowski's line about finding something you love
and letting it kill you is a bit dramatic
and, perhaps, toxic in creating a well-balanced life.

However, I do think all of us
should find something we love
and let it hurt us.