Live untethered to things that perish

Letter to my first Grandchild born in 2045

To my First Grandchild - Born around the year 2045

I am sitting here way back in the past in my underpants at a small writing desk typing you this letter.

Too much information?

The Los Angeles fires are burning. Trump is about to enter his second term in office. The world itself is littered with wars and unfettered aggression.

(All this is inappropriate for a new Grandchild to digest so please ignore for now.)

I have two children, Gabriel who is 13 and Rose who is 8. One of them is your mother or your father, I don’t know which one yet.

As I write this I am also struck by the notion that I never got to meet either of my grandfathers…

I wonder if I will meet you?

If not, I pray that this letter will find its way to you.

What do I want for your life, my little one…

Firstly, I would want you to be filled with love.

Secondly, please see your life as a great big adventure.

Thirdly, master the world and to learn how to live well in it.

Fourthly, laugh a lot.

Fifthly, have strong boundaries. I have taken so long to learn about this. I have given too much of myself and not asked for enough in return.

Know your own value. Never doubt who you are and what you have to offer the world. Be resolute. Be unshakably strong.

Little one, I’ve never grasped strongly to material things and I think that this is good.

So long as I have a place to sleep, a space to create things and food to eat… then your Granddad is happy, content and free in himself.

So long as I have good friends, great conversations and loads of adventures, my life is rich.

So long as I know who I am at my core, my life is strong.

A single experience with a friend is worth so much more than jewelry or fine clothes. Know this! Believe this. Experience this.

Life is to be lived. Try things. Believe in big beautiful impossible ideas. Never allow any person or any idea to suppress your spirit.

Sending you so much love.

Yours Forever.

Granddad x