Serendipity

In 10 years, so much has happened. While some days feel like nothing has changed, moments like this grant me the grace to reflect and see just how much has passed.

My life was once selfishly lived. It revolved around my own desires, my own wants and needs. Ten years ago, I could have claimed that much of what I did was for others, but looking back now—with eyes that have seen so much more—I realize how selfishly I lived. I pursued my own goals relentlessly. Money, power, and status were my driving forces because, at the time, that was all I had known. I justified my ambitions by convincing myself that they were for the benefit of others, for a better world. Maybe, in some ways, they were. But now, knowing what I know, I understand that deep down, I simply wanted my existence to be feared. I wanted my ambitions to be intimidating. I wanted people to recognize the drive that led me. And for a while, it felt amazing. It was consuming.

But in these 10 years, so much has changed. My ambitions remain, but they are now filtered through love. Now, I simply want to provide for the loves of my life. To give what I can so that they can be as happy as I can make them. Ten years ago, I never would have imagined being content with having so much less yet feeling so much happier, all for the sake of the people I love. That isn’t to say that I have lost ambition—far from it. If anything, I have more ambition than ever. But now, my ambitions exist so that those I love can be proud of the man I have become, proud of the world I am building for them.

In the grand scheme of things, it may seem like nothing has changed in 10 years, yet everything has. Who I was and who I am now exist as one and the same, only now filled with meaning and purpose. I no longer wander in the shadows, but instead, I walk forward, carving a brand-new path to show what is possible for the people I love.

We may not know what the next 10 years will look like, but when we finally take the time to reflect, we realize that much of what we didn’t see before was simply because we were too busy enjoying every step of the journey.