To all the lives I've lived before

 I have been many different people in my years on this Earth. Don't get me wrong; I've always been distinctly me, and at any point in my life you could see... well, me in that life. But you're always a bit different in different stages and areas of your life.  I came across an old photo from about 20 or so year ago of me - I and I remember myself then.  It's amazing when those emotions of who and where you were at that time come back from something like a photo.  Anything can trigger the recall, though, a photo, a song... a particular food, a certain smell.

So you dwell in that moment, with the "old you" and part of you relives that experience in an instant.  I mean, days, weeks, months, years compress into a tiny moment in your conciousness and hit you all like a hammer.  I know I've made plenty of mistakes in my life and that often we look at the past and think of those mistakes and/or things we miss... and some people think about changes.  I do too - of course the big one in me is wondering what life would have been like if my kidney disease was caught before it destroyed my native kidneys.

But it's all moot - all the experiences I had, all the choices, good and bad, have led me up to this moment on this very day. And... well, I like who I am now.  I like me.  I'm not perfect, but I think I'm okay.  And if things happened any differently... I wouldn't be who I am now.  This is who I was meant to be, better or worse.  I think maybe I'm better for it, though.