Notes to my older self

Go easy on me when you look back. I may have made mistakes, but they rarely resulted from not trying.

Don’t be seduced by the idea that anything different would have been particularly easy. Even in the best of times, life was a struggle – a rewarding one, but a struggle nonetheless. It’s easy to imagine I took the easy path, but that’s a failure of perspective.

Be gentle with your wisdom. Use it softly, not as a cudgel. Please. The last thing I (or anyone) need(s) is more reasons to doubt myself, more judgment, more shame.

Never stop asking questions, learning, growing. Wise oldsters are diminished by their confidence in what they think they know. It hasn’t yet happened that I look back five years – or even just one – and I’m not astounded by how much I’ve learned. I don’t see any reason that should stop.

Never give up. On anything. More always is possible.

Remember what I wrote to my younger self. Those lessons are timeless.

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