"You wouldn't be a coward." Paddy felt a smile breaking through, and didn't try to hide it - although he did try to turn it gentle, for Solomon's sake, before remembering Solomon wouldn't even see it. Even then, the smile didn't fade, because Solomon would be able to hear it, and that was important enough. "There are no hard and fast rules for bravery. Only individual perception. Solomon, asking for your eyesight to be healed does not erase what you did. It doesn't erase that the Temple could know about Gabe, but don't, because of you. It doesn't change that you were brave, that you felt brave, and that you don't anymore. And it certainly isn't going to make you a coward. All it changes is your ability to see, and your opinion of yourself. That's really all that matters in the end."
It was actually part of Paddy's feelings about sentimentality, too - a topic he'd preached about only a few weeks ago. You didn't need objects to confirm who you were. Sometimes people needed or wanted the reminder, and that was perfectly okay. But if you began relying on those objects to tell you what you already knew, something was wrong. Like people who bought fancy cars for no reason other than their expense - telling the world how successful they were. Or people who hoarded, believing that if they ever got rid of anything they owned they'd be lost - or worse.
Solomon didn't need to be blind to confirm what he'd done for himself. Asking to be healed wouldn't demean his achievement in any way. If he wanted to be blind, if he wanted the reminder, Paddy would support him the entire way. And, from the looks of thing, he'd be far from the only one.
"I suspect," he continued after a moment, "that part of the reason you're still struggling is because you believe you've already made your decision, and you have to stand strong. But you haven't made it yet. There's nothing to stand strong against. So tell me now, Solomon - you don't have to be unable to see to know your worth. The question is, how do you want to see yourself?"
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It was actually part of Paddy's feelings about sentimentality, too - a topic he'd preached about only a few weeks ago. You didn't need objects to confirm who you were. Sometimes people needed or wanted the reminder, and that was perfectly okay. But if you began relying on those objects to tell you what you already knew, something was wrong. Like people who bought fancy cars for no reason other than their expense - telling the world how successful they were. Or people who hoarded, believing that if they ever got rid of anything they owned they'd be lost - or worse.
Solomon didn't need to be blind to confirm what he'd done for himself. Asking to be healed wouldn't demean his achievement in any way. If he wanted to be blind, if he wanted the reminder, Paddy would support him the entire way. And, from the looks of thing, he'd be far from the only one.
"I suspect," he continued after a moment, "that part of the reason you're still struggling is because you believe you've already made your decision, and you have to stand strong. But you haven't made it yet. There's nothing to stand strong against. So tell me now, Solomon - you don't have to be unable to see to know your worth. The question is, how do you want to see yourself?"