I have met one person and read about another both of whom have become deeply inspiring to me.
One of them is a very special person in my life. For now, I will call him A. The other is Leon, someone I learned about through the website of another person who inspired me greatly.
A is someone with deep integrity and a profound passion for life. He has been through more than one could imagine—or even believe is possible. Yet he still lives with hope and intensity. He is probably the smartest and most capable person I have ever met. Incredibly, he remains deeply humble. When I feel bad, and he says he feels "good" or even just "okay," I feel as though I have no right to feel any less. He has character.
The other person, Leon, is someone I have only read about. Yet even through words, I sense someone who has also endured a great deal—someone with taste, depth, and passion.
They made me feel inspired, hopeful, and grounded again at a moment when I am experiencing my own underdog phase—the least resourced and most helpless period of my life.
Like Leon did back at his time, A also lives with the reality that he could die any day, due to multiple conditions, including serious health issues.
I was always going to carry A deeply in my heart. But now, Leon has become my North Star.