7 Powerful Life Lessons I Need to Pass on to My Future Self
#4 Hope you never half-loved
I like to believe there are a multiverse of us in the universe.
In my case — a multiverse of pure madness (Marvel, see what I did there!).
I have written life lessons for my younger self on dating, a confession to my mom and even a few wisdom for my future daughter.
What about my future version?
Beyond questions like:
1. Did you go to Ibiza?
2. Did you get to meet Hugh Jackman?
3. How tall are our dogs now?
4. Did we adopt a child?
5. Has AI taken over the world?
There are lessons I hope my decade old self remembers.
Assuming I would be alive, here are some reminders I wish transcends the concept of space-time:
#1 Keep your soul happy
Whatever touches your soul, I hope you keep pursuing it.
Hope you are willing to risk looking like a joker doing anything that lights your soul.
What people think of your spiritual pursuits is not for you to worry about.
I really hope you are doing things worth laughing about,
Worth recollecting a hundred times with a smile in the zone between awake and sleeping off,
Worth telling your grandchildren to the collective gasps of “grandmaaa!!”,
And hope you have given every bit of your love to it.
#2 Forgive Daily
“As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.”
- Nelson Mandela
Hope you are lighter at heart by forgiving others and yourself too.
Healing needs a sacred space and grudges, guilt needs to be acknowledged for that.
This means,
Letting go of holding people who mean nothing..
Forgiving yourself for the mistakes you make, keeping the lessons safe.
Hope you do it as easy as you breathe.
#3 Coming in terms with Grief
A decade could have changed a lot.
It could have taken away people who are our whole world,
It could have broken relationships and made strangers out of bonds we thought were forever,
It could have meant losing our identities or absolutely everything,
With all these losses, there are versions of you that end too.
I hope you are coming to terms with that.
I hope you are letting your emotions flow, taking enough time to grieve and there for people who need you.
And with whatever version you are at any point — I hope you are there for yourself first.
#4 Hope you never half-loved
It’s a sin to have a foot out of the door when it comes to people we love.
Time can take away anyone in a mere second.
Hope you cherish and put your heart on your sleeve with those precious human beings.
“Do not love half lovers
Do not entertain half friends
Do not indulge in works of the half talented
Do not live half a life
and do not die a half death” — Khalil Gibran
I hope you have kissed like a dream, know the warmth of a million loving hugs and made love like the world was ending,
I hope you celebrated all those you had your back romantic or not, by opening your heart to a kind of healing only true connections can bring.
Hope you are vulnerable, full of love for the world while also fiercely loving yourself.
# 5 Hope you remember the Why
There is always a why..
I hope you remember the lessons our past has taught us,
To acknowledge all the struggles it took to work on self-acceptance,
The healing it took bounce back when life happened,
Why we made decision to choose a life path that is in no way conventional,
Also, remember it took a village of support systems to get back on track,
I hope you never beat yourself up for not being someone like those around you or giving up because you doubt your worthiness.
It’s been decades of work and I hope you know you are the best work of art we created in the process.
# 6 Hope You Embrace Conflicts
When you spoke up for someone,
When you stand your ground while your core values were questioned,
When you ended a previously loving relationship that was going nowhere,
When you protect yourself from a toxic environment,
When you left a friendship because the choice was between a connection and your dignity.
I hope you acknowledge the discomfort and jitters these conflicts bring and sit with your feelings,
Here is a remainder:
“ Doing the right thing never has to feel good”
And your favorite quote from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire:
Dark times lie ahead of us and there will be a time when we must choose between what is easy and what is right.
-Albus Dumbledore
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)
#7 Yet, This is the Most Important Message
If all you did was survive,
If all you did was work on your mental health all these years,
If all you did was just start from scratch a million times,
If all you did was recover from decisions that didn’t serve you,
If all you did was paint, write away with all your passion and did not end up rich or famous,
It still is a decade well-lived.
You have absolutely nothing to prove by ticking certain boxes.
If all you did was exist without harming anyone consciously, it’s enough!
I am always proud of you for all that you are.
Final Thoughts
What I learnt from Interstellar movie besides wormholes, the heartbreaking last interaction between Cooper and her dad is this quote on love:
Love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space. Maybe we should trust that, even if we can’t understand it. — Brand.
Here I am sending a message across time and space that I trust and love my decade old self with all that she is.
Thank you for reading!
