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If I met the younger version of myself, we would…

October 5, 2014 by 20 Comments

liz-danzico

Liz Danzico is the creative director for NPR. Here’s how she opens her post:

I think a lot about what I would say to the younger version of myself if I met her again, if I met her through the still moments of all the motion of youth — when she was sitting at the piano, or if I saw her alone on the playground, or if I watched her read, voice quivering, her short stories in front of the class…

Don’t miss the rest of her post here: Stillness in Motion.

Credits:

Filed Under: Inspire, Life, Photography, Quotes Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Comments

  1. organizednowplease says:
    October 5, 2014 at 7:28 am

    I love her style of writing and her advice.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. Ann Koplow says:
    October 5, 2014 at 9:07 am

    If I met the younger version of myself ….
    … we would have a good laugh.

    Thanks, David!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Sandy Sue says:
    October 5, 2014 at 9:25 am

    Gosh, this grabbed me immediately and I had to read it all.
    How gentle and open she was with her younger self. I loved that, and imagined it for myself.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. ksbeth says:
    October 5, 2014 at 9:51 am

    i love this.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Bonnie says:
    October 5, 2014 at 12:45 pm

    So well timed, David, and she writes so gracefully, so purposefully. I like her stopping points (doing something for yourself, choosing your routine, etc.); she has created a beautiful template – so to speak – to ponder.

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. MJS says:
    October 6, 2014 at 9:09 pm

    This was really lovely. It’s so …. enticing….to think about what we would tell our younger selves. Ain’t experience grand. Kinda….
    It reminds me a bit of….. Erma Bombeck. My mom was a huge fan which meant that all of her books were lying around our house ….which meant that I read them when I was way too young to appreciate them (you kinda had to be a parent…). I believe she died of (breast?) cancer… and one of the last pieces she wrote was about all the things she would have done differently. Something that always stayed with me was along the lines of: I would have entertained more. I would have worried less about spills on the sofa and the carpet. I try to live those words. (It turns out that i really do try to entertain and my sofa is a disaster…..and i don’t even own a coffee table….).
    It’s totally possible that I am mistaking Erma Bombeck for my other hero Anna Quindlen. Either way I try to entertain even tho I am ‘not prepared’ and ‘it makes a mess’.

    Liked by 1 person

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    • David Kanigan says:
      October 8, 2014 at 5:18 am

      Thanks for sharing Moira. Yes, I see the connection with Erma’s famous words:

      If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.

      I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

      I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

      I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

      I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

      I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

      I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

      I would have cried and laughed less while watching television – and more while watching life.

      I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

      I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.

      I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

      Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

      When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.”

      There would have been more “I love you’s”.. More “I’m sorrys” …

      But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute… look at it and really see it … live it…and never give it back.

      Erma Bombeck, If I had my life to live over

      Like

      Reply
  7. SuzyHazelwood says:
    October 12, 2014 at 3:22 pm

    Interesting thoughts! I’m not sure what I’d say to my younger self – perhaps “don’t be so silly!” 😉 Got me thinking, I wonder what our younger selves would say to our older selves? Mm…that’s a scary thought! I think mine might find me a little unadventurous, or dull, is another way to put it! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. Peggy Farrell Schroeder says:
    October 12, 2014 at 7:15 pm

    I loved this. Thanks, too, for sending Erma Bombeck’s.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. ptero9 says:
    October 17, 2014 at 10:53 am

    I would, and do, tell my younger self that it will all be okay. Someday, the world will make enough sense to still be able to love, laugh, cry, forgive and find peace through an underpinning of contentment that will settle into a part of who you are.

    Although, in response, I can hear my younger self reply, “huh?”

    Liked by 1 person

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