Ahhhh, Simpler Times
One of my favorite features of Apple's iPhone iOS is the ability to use widgets on the home screen. My two favorite widgets are Weather and Photos. I like the Weather widget because, well, weather. And I like the Photos widget because it continually curates images from my ever-changing Featured album. Yesterday, while in the thick of some heavy business challenges, I was hit with this image:
"Ahhhh, simpler times," I thought to myself. This picture was taken 18 years ago, shortly after Sarah and I started dating. We were so young, so energetic, so spirited, so......naive. We had our entire lives ahead of us, and nothing was going to stop us.
As I look at that picture, part of me instantly wishes we could go back to these simpler times. Less stress, less pressure, less tension. The couple in this picture hadn't yet experienced so much of the pain and suffering that would soon arrive:
The involuntary relocation.
Five years of gut-wrenching fertility battles.
The loss of a newborn.
Marital tension.
Losing relationships with half of my family.
Two life-altering injuries.
Business failures.
Countless deaths.
In some ways, I yearn to go back to those simpler times. Life would be so much easier if I could wipe my memory and live without this burden. If I could make the pain go away. Maybe get zapped with one of those little flashing memory-wiping gadgets used in Men In Black. Even if I had the chance, I wouldn't, though.
That young guy I see in the photo. While he can jump a lot higher and has a lot less gray hair, he can't make an impact like the current version of me can. He doesn't have the skills, wisdom, and experience to move the needle in people's lives. He wants to, but he can't......yet. He still needs to endure the pain, suffering, and struggle waiting for him before he'll be ready to maximize his impact.
The same goes for you. You undoubtedly have pain, suffering, and struggle in your past (and probably your present). That doesn't make you lesser. It doesn't hinder you. It doesn't make you a failure. It's actually what has shaped you to do the work you're about to do. Sure, your life would be much simpler had you not had to endure all that, but it also would have taken you out of the game to make the impact you are meant to make.
You didn't go through all that for nothing. The pain wasn't endured in vain. This is where it gets good!
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