When I look ahead, what I really see is potential. We all have the potential for greatness. That doesn’t mean we need to single handedly save the world. Life isn’t about the number of accolades we receive, or the amount of money we earn. To face myself in the mirror and honestly be able to say:

I like myself

I’m proud of who I am

I am a person of integrity

I’m happy

I would rather be able to do this, to be able to laugh at myself and all my embarrassing moments with the people I love and who love me, than to have one, shining moment of glory.

From before we’re even born we change the world, we have an intimate impact on someone’s reality. And as we move through life we inevitably share and shape our worlds with countless people. People we remember, people we love, people we like, and people we don’t.

How will they remember us? With fondness or with enmity? Are their lives richer for having had us in them? What kind of company do we keep? Do we move forward, backward, or not at all? How these questions are answered are testaments to the content of our character.

Are you happy with the answers? If you’re not, what are you going to do about it?

The future is just tomorrow’s today. who you were is who you were. Who will you choose to be now? The past already happened, the future hasn’t yet. This is the time of your life, for its the one that really matters.

So enjoy it, live it.

And thank you, for the life that you’ve lived. My life is richer for having been entwined with yours.

♥ Jaimie

This is a (slightly modified) letter I wrote the other day for a friend of mine. It was part of her birthday present where what she wanted was some kind of inspiration letter from all of us about the future. My headspace was kind of busy thinking about all the stuff I have to, yet haven’t, done for uni so I ended up writing this on the train inside my little tiny notepad where the paragraphs had a lot more oomph and the letter spanned pages and pages and actually took a whole train ride (hour) to write. I ended up writing it out again because train ride handwriting is not good handwriting, and I discovered I can’t tear perforated pages properly.

But anyway as I was writing the initial draft on the train I was kind of thinking to myself, sure this is stream of consciousness but lets say this does inspire her, and she shows it to her friends, what do I want to say?

Thinking about it now, there’s so much I could say about the content of this letter. From me to her, and now from me to you, its very personal. I can remember explicitly, and vaguely, the contexts surrouding some of these ideas. The line “From before we’re even born we change the world, we have an intimate impact on someone’s reality.” for example I actually really believe. In my darkest time this realisation is what moved me to choose life.

So basically, this like an open letter to humanity. Filled with lessons I’ve learnt and my philosophies on life. If anyone else ever chances upon finding this, and reads this, I hope you find a place where you belong, and hearts to belong with, life is so much better that way, when you have the space to be free and be more of who you can be.