Dear Younger Me,
I know I had big dreams. I imagined life playing out much differently than it did. In my mind I had my ideal job surrounded by all the things that came with success. I envisioned all of my fabulous ideas coming to fruition, but they didn’t. Life did not follow the path that I thought it would.
Projects came and went, dust settled over them, dulling the sparkle they once held. I became sad and disillusioned. I looked around and wondered why others had success and I did not. I doubted myself and my ability. I stopped enjoying life.
Life went on, because that is what life does. I wrapped myself into my daily routine and kept going, resigning myself to accept what was before me. And then one day, it happened – a stirring, a shifting of the universe. The cards I had been dealt were rearranging themselves into new formation. I looked up and around, I had been caught off guard.
What was happening? Could this be? When I had quietly been becoming older and wiser, a new dream arrived. With new-found patience I exhaled a long breath and wondered at it. I hugged it. I admired it – it was all mine. It might not have looked like the first dream I had, but it was better, it was a perfect fit for where I was now.
And so Younger Me, I bid you farewell. I wish I could take away the struggle and frustration that you feel in the present moment. I feel bad for you that so many days have been lost, consumed and distracted by the “what-ifs” – while real and tangible experiences presented themselves everyday.
The only thing I ask is that today, take one single moment and immerse yourself in it. Leave judgments, to-do lists, relationships behind. Give yourself that.
All my best, Cavvy Ott
