To my future self,

I hope that time has been kind to you, and that you are well.

You wrote this letter some time ago and gave it to someone you trust in the hopes it would never be needed.

I can’;t predict what your life is like, but it’;s likely that some of the things you may be facing are things you went through with your own parents and others. It’;s because of that that you wrote yourself this letter.

Know that the person who has given it back to you cares about you a great deal, and is concerned for your well-being. Please keep an open mind and listen carefully to what he or she has to say. Accept that you may need to trust in their judgment over your own.

They may ask you to stop doing something that you feel you are still able to do. Remember that your father drove well beyond when it was safe for him to do so, and how you and your mother worried every time he was out.

They may ask you to accept help that you don’;t feel you need. Remember that taking care of your father contributed to your mother’;s eventual death. He felt he could do everything himself. Yet your mother spent many nervous moments and sleepless nights listening for him, just in case.

They may ask you to do something you don’;t want to do. It could be something as simple as eating. Remember that in the end, your mother starved herself to death. It could be something more substantial, like changing your living arrangements. Your father, bless him, accepted the need for change, though by then it was too late.

I can’;t know what you’;ve gone through since writing this letter. I don’;t know what situation has caused someone to feel it’;s time for you to get this letter.

I only know that you saw your parents both stubbornly refuse the advice of the people around them, at the cost of their health and their lives. I don’;t want that for you or the people who love you.

I hope that you’;ll remember that you wanted to learn from your experiences, and that to that end, you wrote this letter to help remind you of those times, and to accept the advice and assistance of the people who care.

As much for them, as for yourself.

From a time past.

Your younger self,

__________________________________________
March 1, 2004

A Letter To Myself is � 2004 by Leo A. Notenboom.
All rights are reserved, however permission is granted to use the example letter as a template or starting point for your own letter to yourself. This website may not be otherwise copied or reproduced without prior written permission. Contact leo (at) notenboom.org for more information.