Have you ever wondered what would it be like to meet yourself from the past, or yourself from the future?
I have had a few intense experiences lately on my walks. They involved visions of me as a child, me as a 19 year old, and me as an old woman, walking alongside me. I couldn't shake off the main impression of this experience - how fundamentally different the four of us are.
We all believe in different things when it comes to life, love, happiness and my path and purpose. As a child I believed in good and evil, in fairies, in a vague concept of happiness that was promised to me. When I was 19, I believed that I already ruled the world and had all the power and control in my strong, young and abused (largely by myself) body. Today I believe that I have a place in the world, and that place is within myself, where I truly belong and feel at home. The old woman version of me looks peaceful, and full of grace and wisdom. Her hair is white and she wears natural colours and materials. She looks healthy and content.
It is interesting that, since I've had these experiences, I've had a couple of chances to review my beliefs by putting them to a simple test: What would the child/19 year old/older me think about this? And this exercise is even better if I am certain that I know what I'm doing at the time. Sometimes I have to admit that I still believe in fairytales. I often surprise myself with my own wisdom and maturity. And, just as often, I have to pause before I say or do something I would regret later. We are entwined with our past and future selves. Equally, we are nothing like we were or like we will be.