Dear 90 Year Old Me,
So, you didn't save the world. Get over it. Ask yourself this: Did you really think that you were going to see the eradication of sexual violence and the end of racism, homophobia, and poverty in your lifetime? Now ask yourself this: In the course of your lifetime, did you on at least one occasion:
Speak out against injustice
Intervene in a volatile situation
Uplift a stranger
Give away something you needed, but that someone else needed more
Believe in someone that nobody else did
Accept someone with whom you disagreed
Hold someone's hand when they cried
Go against the grain
Embrace a different perspective
Listen
Stand up for someone who didn't have a voice
Choose love over hate
Fight for something that you believed in
Walk away from something that you didn't
If you answered yes to most of these, I would dare say that your existence mattered more than you realize. That you didn't just waste almost a century of time passively letting things happen to you.
That the world is different, maybe even better because you were in it.
Has it ever occurred to you that maybe the world was too big for you to single-handedly save in the first place? Let go of that burden. Share that passion, that responsibility, with those who will continue to walk the earth after you. You know more than anyone, how much of a gift it is to be able to find the place where your deep gladness meets the world's deep needs. Perhaps your small daily acts sent ripples of change into the world. Perhaps others were watching you the whole time, and they too began acting in small but significant ways.
So you didn't save the world.
Give yourself a break. There's no doubt you are leaving it a changed place. And one more thing, if you REALLY don't want to have any regrets, please, for the love of God, stop passing up on that coconut crème brulee after dinner.
See you soon,
Me
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