If somebody had told my younger self how I’d change in the
future, I would never have believed them. In fact, knowing me then I would have simply said that I would never, ever change, and that I would stay the same till my last
breath.
How young was I! I still laugh at such naïveté. But that was me in my early 20’s, and like me then I see so many young folk today with the same unshakable beliefs, rock-solid opinions and fiery passions for life.
Yeah, that was me. Okay, so that was something like me. And boy was I stubborn!
No, this isn't a complaint against today’s fresh-from-teenage-angst adults. If you do happen to be from this aforementioned age group, please forgive this 'old' guy his attempt to give some good advice. So here goes:
1. Us oldies don’t expect you to understand now, but we hope you don’t make the same mistakes we made. Self-experiences may be your best teacher but it’s also the most expensive, and you might end up paying too much. You can instead learn from someone else’s. Yes, your youthful energy and obstinacy do get to us at times. Heck, you might not even take this advice. But then we've been there and done that, so we won’t mind. We just hope it sinks in soon.
No, this isn't a complaint against today’s fresh-from-teenage-angst adults. If you do happen to be from this aforementioned age group, please forgive this 'old' guy his attempt to give some good advice. So here goes:
1. Us oldies don’t expect you to understand now, but we hope you don’t make the same mistakes we made. Self-experiences may be your best teacher but it’s also the most expensive, and you might end up paying too much. You can instead learn from someone else’s. Yes, your youthful energy and obstinacy do get to us at times. Heck, you might not even take this advice. But then we've been there and done that, so we won’t mind. We just hope it sinks in soon.
2. Having solid opinions backed by passion is a
great thing, but many of us should know by now that the world is not bi-chromatic, it’s
grey (with more than just fifty shades). Compartmentalizing oneself with narrow opinions only makes us look gelid and underexposed, and in this current age, primitive.
All it takes is to walk is someone else’s shoes for a while to
get a feel of their soul (and if you didn't see it, I just punned there). Practice
a little sympathy and compassion, and I can assure you, you will be richer for
the experience.
And finally 3. Take a lesson from the theme song of the year (2014 i.e.) and just "Let it go!" More specifically, I mean learn to let things go. This may sound easy but the wisdom of these three words is
beyond measure. So is the effort to practice it, but when you do learn to
let go of your rigid thinking, your insecurities, your needless obsessions with
yourself and god knows a whole lot of other frivolous and inconsequential
matters, there is suddenly going to be so much more space in your brain you’ll
feel like you’re waking up from a foggy dream. And take it from me, once you do you'll never want to go back into that fog again.
