The prompt for today’s Sunday Scribblings is: Dear Past Me, Dear Future Me.
I joined Facebook a few months ago becoming part of a new demographic—middle aged people who are currently stealing Facebook from the young. I’m still not on twitter and hope not to find this necessary to my personal well-being.
Facebook has been an enormous time waster but has also had the delightful effect of connecting me with a few childhood friends. Speaking with them has brought back memories of that childhood.
Who was I, 40 years ago? 35 years ago? I was the shy, brainy, awkward kid. I was the shortest in my class for years (except for my equally tiny best friend from kindergarten who I’ve now reconnected with via Facebook).
If I were to write a letter to that long-ago self, I think I would say, don’t worry, a few bad times lie ahead but being an adult will allow you/me more power than just control of the car keys. You will take control not just of your circumstances but also of your self, not always, not perfectly but the changes of growing up will smooth off the rough edges and make life a bit easier.
As to my future self, what do I say? That I’ve already had a taste of the aches and pains that are to come with ageing and fear them getting worse. That I have a morbid dread of losing my mind with age. That I’m looking forward to grandchildren and the future they represent. That I am not particularly afraid of death, but I am afraid of loss and of the process of dying. That I hope that the wisdom of age is not overrated.
A couple of days ago, a patient told me that I “radiate calm.” I wanted to laugh but didn’t out of respect. The comment made me think, a lot. Could I possibly generate calm for other people even though at times I feel like a bundle of nerves?
As a 7 or 12 year old, people would have called me shy or moody, quiet or reserved. My grandmother (not the one I was closest to) accused me of being unfriendly because I was so reserved and didn’t look at her. Her unkind remark taught me that I had to make eye contact or people would dislike me for my social anxiety. As a 27 year old, people called me intense, which was true, and the opposite of calming.
If the “radiating calm” comment isn’t just a fiction, then I need to apply a new description to my personality, a new stereotype to the old me. I asked my secretary if she saw me as calm and she said I was. I asked a close friend and he laughed. I haven’t had the nerve to ask my kids or husband.
I am a bit of a chameleon. Growing up shared between two families (my parents divorced when I was 6) I learned to outwardly adapt, to be what the situation required me to be. I also learned to keep my feelings to myself and to be a good listener, useful skills in a future therapist. Conversely being a therapist has taught me to be more genuine, so if my patient says I’m calming, then I must be.
The other day a “real” artist called me an artist. People have called me a writer and a photographer. I never saw myself as any of these. So perhaps the letter to all my selves should say: embrace change, you have many past, present and future selves, all valid, all truthful. Your personality is not as linear as time, and perhaps time itself is not all that linear.
10 comments:
FYI: I laughed too. ;^)
Excellent! We are always full of change and reluctance...
How true that is - our personalities are not linear, we embody several at any one time.
If your patient says you radiate calm, then you do - when you are in that persona. As a therapist, in that moment, doing that job. As a therapist you are calm, because you are confident, skilled, devoted to helping that one person, and you believe in what you are doing. There is not much stress there for you.
When you are at home with your family you are pulled in different directions, and may feel you are about to lose control. In that persona, you may well be intense or frazzled or even panicky.
When you are creating, you are an artist.
And writing all that has helped me to clarify it for myself. Thank you! :)
You packed quite a lot into this post. I am not on Facebook; I have a Twitter thing but only really used it for one day.
I can relate to your fear of dementia or alzheimers or whatever descriptions are appropriate. I watched my grandmother decline from a vibrant, intelligent hardworking woman to a frail and fragile woman, unable to recall much of her life, lost in what was left of her consciousness. She lingered for years like that, frustrated, angry and confused. Her quiet, painless death was a blessing.
I think that radiating calm can be quite a compliment, especially in your line of work.
my head is too foggy to even begin to write anything coherent but i will say, this was a good post. thoughtful, sincere and other than the grandchildren thing i agree with most of it for myself!
The wisdom of age is NOT overrated!
I'm 78 and I'm VERY wise! (I think so, anyway!)
You're a shapeshifter-there now someone called you something else.- I guess you have different skills to cope with different situations.
I know that I try to work on minimizing my weaker traits and maximizing my stonger traits but I think there's a danger of losing some of your spark when you do that.-Life is a challenge.
Well said, there's always room for change or growth, no matter how old you are!
when my husband and I were struggling in our marriage I made one trip to a therapist, he told me I was the most inaccessible person with the illusion of accessibility he had ever met. I never went back!! I thought I would live fast and die young as the saying goes, I certainly lived hard before I finally settled down enough to appreciate the great gifts I have. I think life is change, and few of us see the course we will take, I still look around when people introduce me as an artist to see who they are talking about. I still don't feel grown up or comfortable in this new skin!
PS and I love the picture!!!!
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