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Back to the future

If I encountered myself walking down the road 25 years ago, what would I think.

Would I recognise myself?

Would I like the me I that I am?

There are threads of the tapestry that are recognisable – the smile, the shine in my eyes, the hunger to make a positive impact, the desire to be respected and the drive to act in integrity.

Of all the factors mentioned above, the most important factor is integrity.

For me, integrity means alignment and harmony.

Integrity means all of the streams of my life are flowing in the same direction.

Integrity means that all the actions I take are close to who I want to be, and when I start to lean in a direction that does not reflect my core authentic self, I am conscious of the diversion almost immediately.

So as I walk along the road and I see my 22 year old self, I can see the smile and the shine in my eyes. I’ll smile back, fortifying my heart for the road that lies ahead. It will be worth it, and it does not need to cause suffering. My knowing glance tells him that, and he is sensitive to these things and knows immediately the gravity of the look.

I’ll tell him, if I have a few minutes to talk, that there are many roads away from the land of your youth, but there is not enough distance in the universe to take away the beautiful experiences of youth. The same goes for negative experiences – these will remain with you and influence the present as long as they remain unconscious.

Choose the experiences, perceptions and beliefs that you want to keep. Challenge your perception of the experiences and beliefs that make you feel “crummy”, and reframe them to be inspiring, or release them.

Treat people with respect. Even the ones who are mean. Especially the ones who are mean. That does not suggest that you should remain in negative situations with people are mean and don’t respect you. Respect yourself by walking away.

However, repaying mean with mean creates more mean. Treat yourself with respect by walking away from mean without creating more mean. Walk away with your head held high because you acted with integrity. The other person won’t understand what happened, and that will be your parting gift.

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