The Reluctant Time Lord

tardis
Warning: This post involves time travel, which may affect the space-time continuum, thereby, altering the very course of human history forever. Great Scott!

My monthly synchroblog assignment  necessitated time travel to answer the question that holds the key to what I have been learning the last twenty years of my life.

If I could travel back in time 10-20 years ago and tell myself one thing, what would it be?

Answer: I wouldn’t do it. I would not travel back in time and try to prepare myself for my future, because it wouldn’t work. Nothing would have prepared me for what I would experience.

However, if I relented and took the time travel assignment, I could say something like…

  • You are in for a huge disappointment that will take you several years to sort out.
  • You will question everything you believe, but it will be a good thing.
  • Your very identity will be threatened, but you will become truer to yourself.

But if I said those things, they would just scare me, not prepare me.

I guess I could say something that reflects my basic values like…

  • Nurture your own soul.
  • Excel at loving others.
  • Pursue what is in your heart, your purpose in life.

But, I would arrive at those conclusions without being tipped off by an older, wiser me.

However, if I were indeed a Time Lord, like the good Doctor, and found myself unavoidably in that situation, I suppose I would say…

When you feel like everything in your world has fallen apart, you are really okay, and eventually, you will feel okay. And as time goes on, and things fall apart (again), it will be easier for you to feel okay.

I am not sure if this is the least inspiring thing I have ever written, or the most inspiring. 

I guess sensing God and your own heart telling you, “You are okay.” when it looks quite the opposite is really pretty inspiring.

Here are the links to the other writers’ contributions on the topic.

About Glenn

Glenn Hager is a blogger, former newspaper columnist, and author of two books, An Irreligious Faith and Free Range Faith.
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14 Comments

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  3. Great truths, Glenn! I suppose you are right. Even if I could travel back in time to warn myself about some things, I don’t think i would believe myself. I would probably call myself a heretic! If I did that, I probably would never end up where I am at today theologically, which would be bad. So it’s a good think time travel is not possible.

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  5. “Nurture your own soul.” Something I constantly have to remind myself of, especially in a world so disconnected by technology. Thanks for the refresher!

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  7. What an insightful take on the prompt. It’s true that actually going back in time and telling myself some of the things I’ve learned would probably just serve to terrify me.

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  9. Haha…totally, the point of the Voyager episode mentioned in my contribution. But the “you’re okay” is really the foundational message.

    Be blessed….

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