Friday, October 7, 2016

Letter to myself from my 92 year old self

Dear Fatima,
Life has been good and I am incredibly proud of all the work you have done. It takes a lot of courage to look deep within yourself. To take responsibilities for yourself and do something about it. You had set a road map for yourself to work on your emotional health, that was very hard but you did it. You took charge of your health and your spiritual health. You have raised your family well and accomplished many challenges you had set for you self. I am tremendously proud of everything. In my time on earth these are a few things I have learnt which will keep you in good stead. The most important thing to remember is human dignity.  Human dignity by its very meaning is the idea that all humans are deserving of respect, love and recognition regardless of gender, race, color, creed, caste, religion or any other distinctions. They deserved to be treated well because all humans have inherent worth and it does not have to be earned by status, class, culture or creed. If we all started to treat each other well simply because we are human and not keep creating divisions amongst each other based on nationality, class, culture, sex, gender, creed, and religion there can be peace on earth.

Have tolerance because tolerance simply means to allow another person to have a point of view. It may be completely opposite to your point of view but you allow it to exist, you do not have to agree with it and you do not have to like it but you have to allow it. Have compassion because everyone is fighting a battle some publicly most privately. Don't Judge any one: we all experience life differently and in our limited perspectives we cannot always know how the other person experienced something so therefore we cannot sit or stand in judgement of any one. There is always going to be difference of opinion so let’s just take it as that a difference of opinion and not as absolute truths which we need to fight over to death. Forgive, I have learnt that forgiveness is not always for the person we are forgiving. It is more for us, when we forgive we are able to move on and able to let go. When we forgive we are allowing positive feelings to replace negative feelings. Positivity breeds hope, while negativity breeds despair and anguish. It is as if a wound has been bandaged and you can heal.

Don't give up on your dreams, no matter how old you get, there should always be goals you want to attain and so go for them, don't make excuses just go for it. It is better to lose trying than not try at all. We all have such visions for our future and dreams when we are younger, keep those visions alive you can never know when something will get fulfilled unless you give it your best shot. When you reach my age you will regret the things you did not do much more than the things you did. Treat everyone you meet as if you are going to die that day, give them your best side. This is especially true for our children and significant others because they are the ones who get the worst of our moods. Relationships are the most important things in our lives, make them count give them time and nurture them, good relationships breed happiness. Although we may think power and money is something that will give us higher satisfaction but I think in life happiness is far more important than any other thing and happiness comes from people in our lives not necessarily from things.

A life well lived is far more important than a well preserved body and face. I am not saying that one should let themselves go but I do believe constantly obsessing over every year that is added to our lives, every wrinkle, every fat cell, every gray hair is just not worth the hassle. There are many people in this world who do not have the privilege of getting old. There are those who get old but do not experience anything i.e. patients in comas, people with major brain damage. Take care of your health your mind, your body and your spiritual health. Have gratitude, thank each day you are alive and get to live on this beautiful earth with the wonderful people in your life, your family, your friends and all you meet.


Don’t look back and have regrets, live in the present and enjoy the blessings of each day. Live your life don’t just spend it. 

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