The other day, I heard the song “Dear Younger Me” performed by MercyMe. It is a beautiful song, and there is some truth to the message. Don’t get me wrong, but I just don’t like the song. It would be wonderful to go back and prevent Younger Me from making all the mistakes he made and correct the hurt he caused, but that is not my job. It is not my Purpose to prevent Younger Me from learning the lessons I have learned. My Purpose requires that I made the mistakes I made and that I learn from them.
I am not a fan of the question: “If you could go back and give advice to your younger self, what would it be?” Why? Because it is a fruitless question. What is the benefit? What is the cost? Our job in life is to not look back and wonder “what if?” (We may not like what might actually come of the alteration of the past.) Our job is to “be your best today, and be better tomorrow”—live in the present with an eye on the future. The past is history. If television and movies have taught me anything, there are consequences for altering the “time continuum”.
I appreciate the sentiment in the MercyMe song. The challenge for me is that, if one has the knowledge to take back to Younger Me, he or she is obviously going to gain said knowledge at some point. Who am I to think that gaining this information earlier is going to make anything better? Trust in the plan.
The Universe is bigger than big. “Ginormous” is too small of a word. We are but a small—albeit significant piece—in what, for lack of a better analogy, might be described as a big puzzle. You can’t change a piece of the puzzle without affecting the rest. We are interconnected beyond comprehension. Our actions and inactions do not happen without compounding effect. Who is to say that what we perceive as loss or a mistake is not part of a much greater plan? Who is to say “no good can come of this”?
The past has passed. Let it go. Focus on now. Be your best today. Try not to act like Younger Me might have acted. Carpe momento!
At the heart of the song, “Younger Me”, is the message of letting go of the mistakes made in the past. Let’s not dwell on “how much different things would be”. Let’s focus on what we can do to affect how much different things will be.