Dear self,

Hey, it’s me! Long time, no see, eh? I figured it was high time we had a chat.

I’m hoping that I have your attention. I know that’s not always easy these days… or these months… okay, years. But if anyone can find the right trick to grab you, I’m hoping it’s me.

You are the future, and I am the past… but somewhere between us is that lightning strike of the present tense. When we can push into it from either side, I think it will really be a moment of truth. Even if we can’t quite connect, I might just leave enough behind for you that it will make a difference going forward.

It’s important to me that you keep trying to live in the world. I know you don’t like it much, but you’ve got to remember what I told you before.

“It’s hard to have friends, but it is harder not to have them.”

You know this from experience. So even if you can’t feel connected to the world, even if no one seems to care what you do, keep trying. You are worth the effort, take care of yourself and let the world know you. Even if the “world” you let in is just one other person. Start there. Start somewhere. Be kind to yourself and let that energy spread outwards. I know how much you want to help other people. You can’t do that from a muffled corner that you never leave. Do it someway that feels right for you, but try.

You’ve never wanted to give up. The most precious gift you possess is that tiny thread that connects you to hope. Tiny, difficult to see at times… but completely indestructible. How I managed to find it, where it came from, will it truly never break? I have no idea. But while that hope exists, I will take it with me as far as I can go. I will take it into that blinding moment of now, reaching out with it so that I can pass it to you.

You don’t have to worry about the power of your words. Your words and mine have as much strength and importance as we take away with us after reading them. Writing them may even feel flimsy, but I try to remind myself that these words are for you. I try to remember that there may be a future where you need these words to help you more than anything else. I do what I can.

We’re not going to sink. We’re not going to tread water. We’re going to fly.