Letter to my younger self

Imagination is the doorway to realms beyond the here and now and into the place of possibilities.

My wife and I saw the movie ‘Midnight in Paris’ in which the lead character was having problems dealing with his present and while wandering the streets of Paris at the stroke of midnight was transported back to a time when he imagined it to be a ‘golden’ time. He met others there who in turn imagined their ‘golden’ time was a period further back in the past.

How easy it is to slip into this state of imagination and be transported anywhere, anytime: past or future. Or dream of changing the world in some way to mould it suit the way we think (at the time) that would be better, and that we would be the central character (and invariably the hero) who controlled everything and everything was done the way we wanted it in our ‘Godly wisdom’. Ultimate power within one’s own head. Shame you have to come back to reality.

Still if I could at least write myself a message and send it back into the past what could I tell my younger self?

I wonder if there are alternate universes and alternate time-lines.

Certainly, if I sent back a message that was acted upon to either do or not do something that would have changed my life for the ‘better’ what would the result have been along an alternate time-line. What consequences would the change have brought about? Either in the short or longer term, good or bad?

Maybe it would be safer to not make such suggestions and merely allude to the future and the changes that you know have taken place and paint our present as a bright place to be and strive for.

There is certainly enough failure on the part of humanity with our greed and lust for power that results in ‘the rich getting richer and poor getting poorer’ to whole countries thrust into violent conflict, misery, starvation, disease and death. We have our fears of ‘global warming’, ‘rising oceans’, rising populations and how are we going to feed them, and many other fears.

It’s often said “what can I do, I’m only one little person”. Well history records for us that each turning point was influenced by “one little person” who elevated themselves, persuaded enough other people to follow their lead or adopt their ideas or philosophies to show that “one little person” can make a big difference if they have the fortitude to risk everything to achieve a goal.

History also records that not all of those “little people” were noble and altruistic with the interests of the majority in their hearts.

One never knows whether greatness lurks within them. In my message to myself I could do worse than remind myself of my mother’s words when I left home “never do anything that would make them (my parents) ashamed of me”.

I still live in my world of imagination where I am the central character and all bends to my will – and then my wife brings me back to earth with a thump and I’m reminded that what I have is really fabulous and I’m grateful.

Can the boy from the past who now lives in the present still make a significant change in this world? Time is running out, but who knows! I don’t think the future is pre-ordained so I just might still surprise even myself!