A letter to my younger self - life still goes on

 

Hey dear one,

Congratulations on your graduation from a college student to a professional. At 24 years, it makes me proud to see how far you have reached and the obstacles you have overcome to get here. Seeing you blossom from a fragile child to the confident adult you are today excites me. I wonder about the possibilities and opportunities that await you as you take your first steps in the corporate world. Like a gardener waiting for the seed to sprout, I await to see you unleash your potential in the new soil filled with freedom and independence. I know you will rock this world, and I know you do too!

As you embark on this journey of living, loving and experiencing life to the fullest, hold tight to yourself. Love the you that you are and that you are about to become. The world is going to have several views, suggestions and advice. Be your judge. Make your own mistakes, take the plunge, try different things, and learn and unlearn. Seize the day, seize the moment and live without the fear and the judgement of the world weighing you down. 

Life is about getting the process right. You will often be tempted to focus on the result, only the results. Don’t let that cloud your sight. What you do daily matters. You cannot water an orange plant daily and expect a mango fruit. That on which you invest your time every day matters. That on which you invest your time daily grows. Time is the essence of life. Life rarely gives you a second chance. Use your time wisely, and with it, you live your life wisely.

I know you have several goals and dreams in life. Let excellence be that underlying thread binding it all together. In any and everything you do, leave one trademark, your excellence. Make it your brand and live it wholeheartedly. When you think of Japan or Steve Jobs, you think of quality and excellence. Let your work become a symbol of excellence. Reaching a state of effortlessness requires enormous effort. Similarly, excellence is a continuous endeavour; make it your partner for life.

Until a particular age, your parents, relatives and friends are well-wishers. They keep motivating and encouraging you. You soon outgrow all of them and reach a point when you become your cheerleader. It is a complex and lonely world up there. Do not be too hard and critical of yourself. The only person who knows what you have been through to reach where you have reached is you. Don’t hold back; appreciate yourself, feel the pride, feel the sense of accomplishment and celebrate yourself.

Life is an endless flow, and we are fleeting moments of time. We are born in time, grow in time, and fade in time. Ultimately, what matters is that you lived life experiencing all its colours and tasting all its flavours. Don’t take anything too seriously, nor take things for granted. Be awestruck by the spectacular view of the snowclad mountains and wonder at the trees dancing to the wind outside your window. Experience the highs and lows of life with this realisation that this too shall pass and life still goes on. After every success and every failure, life still goes on. In reaching your goal and having reached your goal, life still goes on. After every breakup and every consent, life still goes on. Throughout life, until the very last breath, life still goes on. If this is the truth of life, is there a need to feel low and give up? Is there a need to feel helpless and depressed? After every night comes a beautiful dawn because life still goes on…

The mantra I want you to hold dear in this journey is this, ‘ life goes on’.