Dear Me

Born December 15th, you were born with hands closed like fists, crying out for your mother’s breast as you were hungry, and sucked the juices out of her breasts. That’s what you were told, at least, because you have no memory of that whatsoever.

You have no memory of your birth, the first few months of your childhood, the first pain you felt when your first tooth surfaced, you have no memory of the surroundings of your childhood, you have no memory of when your mother got beat up by your father because apparently she was suspicious of your father’s infidelities; or when your father went to a bar to play pool on the evenings of your childhood just to meet up with his mistress, you have no memory of how you felt, what you thought, saw or even said because you were just too young to remember. All that happened within the first twenty-four months of your life, you remember nothing because it has been suppressed in your memory for you to not remember. Maybe that’s just how mother nature works, who knows, it don’t matter anyway.

All those events are foretold by our mothers and all the people who were present at the time on evenings as bed time stories, maybe somehow you knew then what you know now, that you were born to become stupid, wicked, and become a prime example of what saints, smart and innocent people should not become, become a lesson to be taught about and first point of reference for many who will come after you, for them to know good from evil, success from failure based on your story, a path they shouldn’t embark on, in order to create a future filled with good people, successful people who would do good things and eradicate all the evil in the world. Well, that’s ambitious, and the truth is from the beginning of time we were all condemned to a world we living in now.

The point to all of this is, nobody chooses the environment they are born, raised and grow in, including the things we are exposed to. No murderer, rapist, liar, and every kind of wicked one can think of, is ever born like that. They are all products of the circumstances and surroundings they grew up in, and that’s no excuse to pardon their acts, but here you must look at the root of the problem. You lack certain qualities and that is what sets you apart from the lot. It’s pointless to blame it on your family’s misfortunes, the generational poverty that feels like an inheritance passed on, a curse if you may call it, or the fact that you are black, or that you grew in a township, or your inherent history of your ancestors who’s constitutional rights were violated, NO! You have equal opportunities to change the narrative.

You must understand that in your journey, you will need people to help you in your time of need, who will remind you of your course in case you forget, who will show you the way when you are lost, and in some instances, you will walk certain paths alone that are full of pain, loss, loneliness, darkness, but know this, they will teach you important lessons in life that will make up for all the qualities you lack. You will be strong, persistent, focused, disciplined because you want to give your people hope, that the story can end well even though the beginning was wasn’t so well, that there is light at the end of the tunnel, that you don’t need to be smart, innocent, or a saint for that matter to make a difference in this life. Since you are a statistic, a case study, change the content of your story and make it something that will bring faith to your people.

It is said that the reason why kids when they are born, their hands are closed like fists, is because they are carrying their purpose in the palm of their hands. That’s superstition, maybe, but be that as it may, it doesn’t hurt if all it brings is meaning to one’s life, right? Make your mark that will never be forgotten or suppressed by history, and even if people do forget about your contribution to the world, make sure that there are people who will tell the tale when no one else seems to remember.

Your purpose in life is to fulfill your social role, that is, being a law abiding citizen, a brother to your sister, a son to your mother, a husband hopefully to your future wife, a better father to your children and a servant to your community. Create better surroundings and circumstances today so that the next generation can live in a world better than yours. You want to change the world, start with you.

Till we meet again, from me, the person you must become, we will meet before you depart from earth, and we’ll see if we mirror each other.

So long

Future Self. Much love.