I hope this finds you-someday

Dear Me,
You’re 35 now, old, but yet quite not so.

The concept of writing a letter to one’s future self is probably very clichéd, but I felt I should try doing it just so you can read this someday, and say –‘I was such an ass when I was 20’. Ok, I think you just had your day’s bit of laughter, and I know you don’t laugh a lot because you’re generally worried. Be it your family (Hopefully you have one by now), your job, or even your ever bourgeoning belly (I tried getting rid of it, but in vain), things just tend to get you worked up don’t they?

2012 has been a miserable year so far and I know that we’re barely two weeks into it, and I know I’m being a whiny moron because in comparison to the problems you have to deal with; mine are well, derisively stupid. I’ve had my heart broken twice, have had bouts of flu and have tons of work that’s pending, and I wanted to vent all of this to someone who wouldn’t mind, and I know you wouldn’t, because you’re me.

There are things I want to tell you, things that you might have forgotten by now or you might still remember them but your frenetic way of living probably never gives you a chance to ponder over them.

People have always told me, work hard and don’t brood over the possible outcomes of what you do as long as you’re doing what’s right. Do the people you work with, still tell you this?

See, I realized this very recently- people forget to add a very crucial clause to this precept. You must do what’s right only as long as it’s right for the people who matter to you-irrespective of it being right for you or not.

I’m going to leave you to dwell on this. You’ll understand what I mean to say, if you just think about it for a minute or two, maybe after you turn your bed side lamp off, before dozing off at night, or during your ever dwindling lunch hour.

In all probability I will not stick to following this, because I never manage to, with things like these.

I hope you shall make a conscious effort to keep this in mind always- so I can hope that as I grow older I become like- what I’m hoping you are right now.

A lot of people tell me, being materialistic is wrong. See, it’s alright to have a fancy sports car, live in a lavish apartment, splurge on watches and clothes, if you know that you can do all of this, because you’ve made yourself worth all of this. And yes, I hope you’re a bit charitable and that you do whatever little you can to help make the world a better place. I’m not saying you should go out of your way trying to be a good person. You don’t have to. Buy a homeless person a doughnut, donate a blanket to an orphanage, and lend some money to a colleague in need. That’s what being good is all about. It’s not about opening trusts or getting a picture of you helping the underprivileged, published in a newspaper.

I hope you’ve found your soul mate by now. If you haven’t, keep looking. Don’t settle for people who don’t respect you and your sensibilities. If someone has a problem with you working late into the night, or with you not answering their calls while you’re in a meeting, they obviously don’t understand you too well. They aren’t bad people, they’re just being inconsiderate and you should know better than to hope to be compatible with them someday.

I hope you do party once in a while. Getting sloshed is okay as long as you don’t do things that might be hurtful to others. Remember what Vijay Mallya says (He’s such a dude)- Work hard and party harder. I do a lot of crap when I’m alcohol sodden but I haven’t insulted or hurt anyone when I’ve been inebriated.

Keep listening to music- especially Coldplay. Their kind of music will never phase out and if it does, make it a point to keep listening to them, no matter what and keep appreciating the way they manage to alleviate any sort of stress. One of my dreams in life is to watch them perform live. Have you done that already?

I dream of being able to write well all my life. It’s a dream which has been shattering bit by bit with every passing day. What I want you to do is to pick up the pieces and somehow, get them together. Sundays are free (I hope). Go to a quiet place, alone, and sit and scribble on a notepad for a few hours. It helps- a lot. You must know that you’re good at it.

There are two places in this world I’ve always wanted to visit- Times Square on New Year’s Eve and the Centre Court at the All England Tennis Club (Wimbledon). We’re all crazy in our own little way aren’t we? We should be, else we’d all be the same.
I hope you have visited these places or do plan on doing so in the years to come.
I can go on and on but I think I’d save some more of the things I want to tell you for another letter.

One more thing- I hope you’re still in touch with your closest friends from college. If by any chance you aren’t, find out where they are, turn up at their doorsteps and greet them by saying- ‘What's up fu**face?’ like the old times- like I do now.

You’re not very old yet. You can still work a lot, and you should. Being satisfied is just a concept. You can never be satisfied, but you can be happy. I don’t know why people are labouring under the impression that the two mean the same. They don’t and nor will they ever do.

I can’t seem to find a decent way of ending this letter.

So I’ll end this with the closing lines of my favourite Coldplay song:

Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And all the things that you do


Yours sincerely,
You