Hanif,

There’s an entire world of unrealized possibilities waiting for you to bring them into existence. Are you going to step up to the challenge? Will you give your gifts to the world? Or will you selfishly keep them to yourself?

Will you develop your gifts and make the world a better place? Or cower, denying humanity of the gifts that you’ve been so graciously given. You’ve been given to, but don’t want to give. Why? What is it that stops you from giving?

And where does this desire to hold come from? What are you holding on to? What are you hoping to achieve with such behavior? Do you think that if you hold more tightly that everything will be better? That if you grip more firmly, then things will flow more smoothly? What kind of contradiction is this that you believe?

Maybe you don’t yet realize the absurdity of it. And that’s OK. I didn’t either. But I’m not the person that I used to be. People change. Things change. Nothing is forever. Change is the only constant, after all. But I’m happy. This has been a long time coming.

We’re no longer going to grip tightly in order to force the world into our view of what it should look like. Instead, we’ll work with reality. Craft it like a skilled artisan. The artist doesn’t change his material by forcing it into a different shape. He works with it, he guides it through a transformation. There is no force. There is teamwork, togetherness, the divine creative power – a power that we all possess.

Some choose to nurture it more than others. But we all should nurture it. How wasteful to squander one of the most important gifts that you could have possibly been given. Do you not wish to see where your creative powers could end up? Do you not wish to bring good and beautiful things into the world? Would you rather them be kept away in the confines of your mind, never knowing the joy of existence? Selfish. Don’t do that.

Give. Create. Build. Construct. Collaborate. Make something because you want to see what happens. Create something with other good people for no reason at all. There doesn’t need to be a reason to create. Creating is our nature. It’s the unnatural thing to not create. To block this holy conduit to a source of infinite knowledge. To shut yourself off from the source of all that is and all that could be.

There’s never been a better time to create. Because the time is now, and the present is perfect. But today’s world makes it more difficult. There are constant distractions. Everyone is fighting for your attention. Advertisements, television, apps, and notifications. It’s overwhelming. And it will overwhelm you, too, if you let it.

Don’t let it.

Protect your mental health. Your mind is a sacred space, meant for sacred things. You are meant to do great things. But you won’t if you never develop and focus your creative capacity.

Trust me. I’m you, just a little further down the road. And I’m cheering you on. This is the love and encouragement that you deserve.

With love,

Hanif