A letter from June 27th, 2020

Dear Caroline, By the time you will read this letter, five years will have passed. Today is Wednesday 17th June 2020, I am sitting in the old rose Ikea recliner in my studio in ***** with Ernest sitting on the armchair. The weather is pretty good in this beginning of winter, the sun is shining, and birds are getting excited thinking it is the mating season. You must know that I am not writing this letter to tell you all about my thrilling day. Five years have passed. Five years in the course of which you became more adult, more feminine, more alive, stronger. Half a decade in the course of which you have learned, loved, enjoyed, played, listened, saw, touched, (probably) lost, but in the course of which you have lived life at its fullest without feeling regrets for a second. Well, I hope so, because regrets do not change your life, but they make it sadder. You were always overflown with life but also pain. You always felt the fluctuations of life deep within your soul and spirit, and often considered it as a flaw. You are sensitive, then what? You feel things that only a few people make the effort to feel or dare to confront, and you focus on yourself. I would like to remember you the thousands of moments you have already lived and tell you how full of gratitude I am for living these magical instants. The orange sorbet at Auntie's wedding with Grandpa seating next to you, the numerous family holidays in ****, the school holiday mornings spent watching cartoons with your sisters, the smell of the Sunday’s roast chicken cooked by Mum, the emotion you experienced when you watched Into The Wild, the graceful moments lived through the eyes of Rafael Nadal, the glacier hike in Norway, the Longyearbyen trip, the many laughs with co-workers, holidays in South of France organised by your sister and long-time boyfriend, the feeling of absolute interior unity experienced through a few music notes, as if music was shimmering straight to your heart. I would also like to talk to you about the millions of moments you lived since I have written this letter. By the time I am writing, your lifestyle just changed. We are in 2020 and this year marks the year of Covid-19 outbreak, a year during which the entire planet was on lockdown for many months after this respiratory disease from China burst in. You have been impacted yourself, stayed in your studio for more than two months without seeing anyone, and you did a lot of thinking about yourself (as you always do). You came to realise that life is short (breaking news, you did not know that), but also that you must do what you love. I know, I know, you are going to tell me that it sounds just like the typical catchphrase of a hippy wearing a fringe jacket with a smoking joint made of flax, but the simplest advice are the best. You have made the choice to become vegan on Sunday 14th June. Why is that? You made your mind up. Because you wanted to change things. To defend animals’ rights. These tiny beings who are exploited without having a say in it. And you know what, I am very proud of you. Because you ultimately have the feeling to do something with your life. I am convinced that you have succeeded in making vegan pastries. This also was a quite recent and huge change in our life. I realised that I could actually enjoy eating pastries and cakes without harming any animal. I am sure you are right where you were supposed to be. You might even have opened your own business. Congratulations for this considerable achievement! I know without a doubt, that over the last five years, you have met many people, you strove and created to make the world a better place. You are part of the team of human beings who decided to change their lives to live in harmony with the world (I promise I am not writing under the influence of substances). A quote I often like to refer to – I think you know which one I am talking about – is from River Phoenix and it says “Run to the rescue with love, and peace will follow.” I know without a doubt that, over the last five years, you have worked to put into practice this motto to your daily life, and I can’t say how much I am proud of you. Congrats, you did it! You made it through the last five years with great success! You are someone with strong values. We both know since the youngest age that you are special. Your sensitivity enables you to see the secret beauty of everyday objects that the ordinary mortal would not distinguish. Use this ability to continue on your way to do good, educate and make this world a bit better than yesterday. As Henri Matisse would say, “There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” You also have a strong work ethic, many colleagues already noticed that. I have no doubt whatsoever that you have continued to implement this ethic in your everyday life over the past five years. You are also a regular blood and plasma donor; this is an extraordinary gesture that saves thousands of lives. You believe that this is a duty for every single person in good health. And I have no doubt that you continue to give your time for this cause. You do not tolerate others’ suffering. The animal cause, all forms of bullying, women’s voice in hospitality, the impact of men on the planet, are causes dear to your heart. I have no doubt that you have worked on some of these subjects since I wrote this letter, and I am proud of you. Proud to see that you defend the voice of the voiceless, of those who cannot fight. Keep going, this makes you feel alive and fill your heart with joy. You are a true gem. A true gem. I repeat myself, it feels good to hear someone telling you that. A goldmine. Who has all the right to breathe, to live, to love as much as any other living being on this beautiful planet. I must remind you that. You are a unique being. There is no better or worse than you. You are the only you, and you are a treasure by being yourself. You have always sought answers in others’ eyes, in others’ acts, in others’ behaviours around you, in order to be better at knowing yourself. The answers lie within you since the day you opened your eyes for the first time during the winter 1989. Do what make you happy, be yourself, because no one else will do it for you. Surround yourself with loving beings, who support you, and invest your time in the causes dear to your heart. Billions of astonishing moments are just waiting for you on the corner. Carry on your interest in various and miscellaneous subjects. Music, which you could not live without and that carries you since an early age, appeases and calms your soul. Cinema, in which you draw on your bursting imagination. Literature, also, which is an everlasting source of tales and fragments of lives. The creative aspect, in pure art format that you perceive in museums; the art of telling stories, or even the art that you express with your own hands when cooking or baking. And never let anyone tell you that you are not worth it, that you will not make it, that you do belong here. Your path is unique, marked out by singular experiences that will be yours forever. No one will ever be able to take them away from you. Use your inner strength to move forward. Because you are capable of everything, as long as you believe in your dreams. It is no more difficult to buy a bread stick than to change things. Life is like a mountain to climb, with different surfaces to apprehend. Sometimes the path is flat and smooth, and sometimes you must get around a rock, or face a steep slope, or even use an ice axe to climb up the mountainside. This does not prevent you from arriving on top safe and sound, to admire the breathtaking overall view. And this overall view, you will admire it for sure, when you will be ancient and wrinkled, surrounded by your loved ones and hundreds of animals. You will smile and will recollect these divine memories. By then, you will have a stunning inner library at your disposal, in which you will be able to dig and draw as much as you want, that will provide you with a sensation of peacefulness, of well-being and satisfaction. And nothing else will matter. I would also like to have a word about your family life. We both know that you are an eternal romantic, who believes in magic, real love and its stupendous powers. Treasure your family every day, and do not forget that every millisecond counts. Spend some time with your loved ones, go on holiday, make phone calls (or even flash calls, maybe the phone does not exist anymore and it has been replaced by flash beams like in Star Trek), send flowers and friendly notes. Treasure them while they are still around. Surround yourself with positive people, who will make your existence blossom and enliven it with a thousand different shades. Regarding your love life, it has been pretty much non-existent. You did not experience great love stories, met someone who really cared or found the key to your heart. But I believe that remaining single for this extended period of time did good to your soul and enabled you to reach a superior level of consciousness and your inner you. Back in 2020, you were often laughing, thinking that the ultimate goal that your soul could reach was the level of knowledge and consciousness called Ascension, as seen and experimented by Daniel Jackson in Stargate SG-1. I have no doubt that you have reached it, and I am so, so proud of you. I now understand that all these years of emotional wandering meant that you had time to practice and train your soul to achieve inner peace. These years have not been wasted, they have been useful and brought you just right where you needed to be, so you can fully embrace your own being and your own soul with bliss, enable yourself to open up to others and radiate happiness everywhere you go. I know for certain that at this time, you have met the person you will spend the rest of your life with. I know you are happily married, probably with children (can you believe that, having children, this is something you would have never thought about before. It goes to show, never say never). I knew and I wanted it, and I have asked the Universe to make him appear on our path. James. It was obvious. Like Fate. A unique being like few on this planet. He is one of these persons we meet only once in a lifetime. You share the same values, the same ideas, have the same way of looking at things, tread on earth with the same foot. Your souls are painted with the same colour. The first time you met, you were drawn to each other. As if you came together again after a long trip away from one another. This feeling of being as one with your other half, this is what you have ceaselessly longed for, and all these years of sentimental starvation prepared you for this continuous and eternal surge of authentic love. He is a steady companion. He is your lighthouse. He illuminates your days and brightens your nights. I am so thrilled and grateful that you are living a wonderful love story with James. I know for certain that you are being yourself like you have never been, that he is here for you in every breath you take. Wake up every morning by his side and take a moment to reflect upon the immeasurable luck that you have to share every second of your existence with him. Burn with love for him and love each other for the rest of your lives. I want you to live your life according to yourself. I want you to live your life according to your wishes and desires. I want you to live your life according to your values, according to what makes you vibrate, to what makes you feel good, to what makes you love. Nothing else matters. Keep your smile on your face whatever happens, give meaning to every second of your existence. Life is a gift that must be cherished and lived till the last second. You know more than anyone that you do not leave the movie theatre before the credits end. You have only one mission on Earth: to be happy. So, do not waste time. Love, sing, listen, laugh, share, eat, cry, dance, look, travel, build, write, seduce, search, feel, receive, help so that you will be able to look at the breathtaking overall view from your inner library of memories without any regrets. I was delighted to write this letter and shared my experience with you. You are my hero. Remember to write to future Caroline who will need your help later on. I will finish my letter with these lyrics that you are more than familiar with: All we know is the sun will rise Thank your lucky stars you’re alive It’s a beautiful life. And you know what? Everything will be fine. I assure you. Caroline Wednesday 17th June 2020