it’s never too late to start (again)

photo by Brendan Rains

The world is in turmoil and it has reminded me once more of the connection us humans have, the one thing that unites us. It is a trait none of us can control, but that is present in heroes and villains alike: having hope. If all else is lost, there is still hope. 

Having hope and planning ahead are two of the most essential parts of the human existence. Who would I be if I didn’t obsessively check my horoscope when something big happens to see if it was really written in the stars, prescribed by destiny or god or the universe? My friends and I check the weather forecast for next Friday daily, it makes it easier to pretend that having the hope of good weather on our graduation day is enough to actually bestow us sunshine that day. 

I can think of one thing I know that is simultaneously the one thing I don’t know: the law of attraction works. This, like Murphy’s Law of everything always being as bad as it possibly could be, might as well be the definition of uncertainty. Is my life currently the worst it could ever be? And if Murphy’s Law is really true, then doesn’t that mean that it won’t ever get better because it is already as bad as it ever could be? But doesn’t that also mean that the things that I thought were bad a year or three ago, the things that really burdened me more than what is going on right now in my personal life is burdening me, weren’t even half as bad as I thought they were? And what does that say about my perception? 

Lots of questions that are impossible to answer, I know. That’s what I meant when I said that these are things I know for sure, but simultaneously don’t. 

Now let us speak of one thing that keeps me and most others going: If you don’t go for it, you’ll never know. The worst that could happen is that it could go wrong. But if you do believe in destiny, and it does go wrong, then knowing that it going wrong was a part of your destiny is almost a comfort worth the risk. 

Someone I know said that the one thing they learned in school is that it is never too late to start. While they were most likely talking about projects or homework, I am talking about everything else. If you never try you never know. It is never too late to start, and it is never too late to start again. To try again. If you try again and it doesn’t work out, so be it. But if you try again and it does work out, then that means that the whole universe aligned to get you there, that the whole universe wanted you to act on your impulse, your crazy thought, the idea you were almost too afraid to say out loud. 

They say if you love something let it go and if it loves you it will come back. I say screw that. Nothing good comes easy, so why go the easy way? Why avoid the hassle, the fight? Why let go if it is so much more satisfying to keep holding on? 

I have always been a believer in second chances. Call me gullible, naïve, a wishful thinker or hopeless romantic. Call me a Libra, tell me it’s just the stars. Or the tarot cards. Maybe it is. But maybe I’m on to something. What if starting over would change everything? What if wiping away the tears, the regret, getting up and trying again, is the key to your happiness? 

Whatever it is you are thinking about while reading these words, may it be a friendship, a creative project, a political movement, school related, or a relationship, I hope you don’t let go. Yes, the saying goes “if it is meant to be it will be”, but what if you are meant to fight for it? What if all along, the hardship you are facing is simply testing your resilience, the universe facing you and looking you deep into your soul and asking you “Are you worth what I have in stow for you?”

Think of it like this: How badly do you want it? How badly do you want her? How badly do you want him? 

If there is just an ounce of will inside of you, an ounce of inspiration to keep going, listen to it. Listen to that golden light in your chest, don’t ignore it, don’t let go. Don’t give up.I want you to fight. I need you to fight. I need you to try. You owe yourself to give it a try. 

And if all else fails, I hope that you have enough hope to believe that it is never too late to start (again).