One of the hidden messages in what both you and Joan are saying is that even our mistakes will bless us if we let them. It is a severe mercy to be called out and called higher by our lower instincts. Especially, especially in our twenties.
I just had this conversation in therapy this week. How ‘bad’ the world can be and how hard things happen and more misfortune is really then only certainty…so why not live, like really LIVE right now? Why not reach for the best? Be defiant in your joy. Who knows how long we get. I thought I had learned this life lesson after cancer but clearly I needed another reminder on the merry go round 🙃
Woke up in a cold sweat this morning.... already fearing my 25th birthday (it's in 3 months). I feel like I am finally exiting the everyone-hates-me era and understanding they truly don't care that much, in the best way... but I still somehow feel that too much time has escaped, it's too late for me, etc. etc. Can't explain how much I needed this piece! <3
Catherine, You are absolutely right. Life can be scary. Bad things do happen. But we can and must choose how to respond, even though it may challenging and scary. We cannot isolate ourselves and be silent. We must find the courage to act and tell the truth.
It's wild how rare the idea that actions actually have consequences is in our world. I figured it out at some point in my early 20s, but I've met plenty of people older than that who are totally unaware of cause and effect in their lives. Great article!
beautiful essay - i felt the honesty in it. took me directly back to this essay i wrote ( https://read.mindmine.xyz/p/you-vs-you ) a couple years ago exploring similar concepts, also inspired by the black swan, literally using some of the same images!! which was also fun to reread/revisit - glad to have found your writing :)
Great essay on (YES!) personal responsibility — from a young person! Much needed and yes self respect among women is also much needed. You can't ask to be treated like an agent of your own life without that.
i was 28 when that opening quote first found me, too! books are magic in that way--finding you when you need them most, or perhaps when you're finally ready to face the person you'll become at the end of a surprise paragraph. your words strike a great balance between honesty and gentleness, and i'm glad they found me today. thank you! ♥️
I just wrote an essay where I pondered this same quote on the brink of turning 30 - it really is THE quote you should be thinking about in your twenties!! Everything counts! Love this Catherine!
This is such a lovely read. Transported me directly back to my 20s. From 20 years later, I’m putting my hand on her shoulder and reminding her it’s not nearly as serious as she’s making it. Sigh. We just can’t know it til we know it and I guess that just requires feeling through it all. Thanks for this great piece!!💕
I wish I had read this five years ago! But sometimes you have just have to live it before you actually learn it irritatingly...
Totally. Everything I write about I've learned the hard way
I just bought the book!📕
One of the hidden messages in what both you and Joan are saying is that even our mistakes will bless us if we let them. It is a severe mercy to be called out and called higher by our lower instincts. Especially, especially in our twenties.
Well said.
I just had this conversation in therapy this week. How ‘bad’ the world can be and how hard things happen and more misfortune is really then only certainty…so why not live, like really LIVE right now? Why not reach for the best? Be defiant in your joy. Who knows how long we get. I thought I had learned this life lesson after cancer but clearly I needed another reminder on the merry go round 🙃
I feel like this is something I have to re-learn on a near daily basis.
Woke up in a cold sweat this morning.... already fearing my 25th birthday (it's in 3 months). I feel like I am finally exiting the everyone-hates-me era and understanding they truly don't care that much, in the best way... but I still somehow feel that too much time has escaped, it's too late for me, etc. etc. Can't explain how much I needed this piece! <3
Catherine, You are absolutely right. Life can be scary. Bad things do happen. But we can and must choose how to respond, even though it may challenging and scary. We cannot isolate ourselves and be silent. We must find the courage to act and tell the truth.
It's wild how rare the idea that actions actually have consequences is in our world. I figured it out at some point in my early 20s, but I've met plenty of people older than that who are totally unaware of cause and effect in their lives. Great article!
beautiful essay - i felt the honesty in it. took me directly back to this essay i wrote ( https://read.mindmine.xyz/p/you-vs-you ) a couple years ago exploring similar concepts, also inspired by the black swan, literally using some of the same images!! which was also fun to reread/revisit - glad to have found your writing :)
wow -- I look forward to reading your essay! thank you for sharing with me
love this!!
A hard truth!
Great essay on (YES!) personal responsibility — from a young person! Much needed and yes self respect among women is also much needed. You can't ask to be treated like an agent of your own life without that.
Absolutely. What an empowering message
i was 28 when that opening quote first found me, too! books are magic in that way--finding you when you need them most, or perhaps when you're finally ready to face the person you'll become at the end of a surprise paragraph. your words strike a great balance between honesty and gentleness, and i'm glad they found me today. thank you! ♥️
I just wrote an essay where I pondered this same quote on the brink of turning 30 - it really is THE quote you should be thinking about in your twenties!! Everything counts! Love this Catherine!
It's an iconic quote, and it all adds up in the end <3 happy 30th xo
This is such a lovely read. Transported me directly back to my 20s. From 20 years later, I’m putting my hand on her shoulder and reminding her it’s not nearly as serious as she’s making it. Sigh. We just can’t know it til we know it and I guess that just requires feeling through it all. Thanks for this great piece!!💕
This was so needed today. Fantastic writing :) thank you for the reminder
This was something I had to hear and somehow comforting, as always, thank you for being such a good role model 🪿
<3 thank you for reading Luana
You've written a lovely little piece. The quote from Mr. Emerson is especially appreciated.
Thank you! "Self-Reliance" is a haymaker of an essay.