Paul

I had this thought the other day about my good friend Paul, and how much I appreciate knowing him. I was thinking that there are a great many things that I have taken for granted in my friendship with Paul, and one of the greatest things is his constant insistence upon not taking things for granted. Paul will argue for the sake of arguing, but often his most important points about life come from this. "Is that so?" is a common phrase for Japanese people, and Paul adopted it long ago, questioning in this adopted way the true existence of what I had thought was just reality. I have learned that in the action of questioning the reality of things that I take to be true, I learn more about myself and my expectations from life. This has never been more helpful than in having a relationship with the greatest love of my life. The more I know myself and am able to express it to her, the better life is.
Another thing I have recently come to appreciate about Paul is his incredible artistic ability. I had no idea what went into painting the way that Paul has been painting for years. I've painted for while, but I've never really tried painting with much accuracy, it's more about the expression of emotion through broad brush strokes and washes of color than any detail for me. Paul however has taught himself an perfected som eincredible techniques that I am just now becoming aware of.
Thank you Paul for being an inspiration to me.