The death of Augustine's friend opened his eyes and allowed him to see what he was missing in life. Before his friend's death, Augustine had a void in his life. However, instead of adequately bridging this gap with God, he decided to fill it with worldly efforts and material things. This in the long run only made his condition worse. Not realizing that he needed God only widened the gap. When his friend died, he had metaphorically widened the hole so much that when it reopened it caused him immense pain. He tried to resort to material cures to heal himself, but once again «These delights were succeeded not by new pains, but by causes of new pains» (60). Looking back, Augustine sees that it took him a long time to put his faith in God. Even after saying that he should turn to God, he turns to the visible world and once again is disappointed with the results. He even admits: “I didn't know it then. I loved beautiful things of a lower order and went deep" (64). This is the point where he fully recognizes that the worldly path is leading him astray. Here we see Augustine's life path changed for the better. Now he can recognize that these failures were a sign to God. These attempts to fill the void in his life did not work because God was missing. The death of his friend was the catalyst that began the change in his life.