Back in 1999, I Wondered...
The year was 1999 and the last days of December quickly went by as I stayed with my grandma at her apartment in a quiet, sleepy neighborhood in Moscow. The idea of a new Millennium occupied the entire bandwidth of my 6-year-old brain… Another thousand years was coming to an end, and yet I could hardly grasp what my own life could even look like in ten or twenty years from that time!
I remember spending the New Year with my grandmother and her sister in that apartment, watching TV and eating the traditional Russian holiday foods - cold cuts, salads, a few main course dishes that we all shared and or course more sweets than I would normally see at dinnertime. I felt a little sad - that year my parents had their own plans, and I felt that if they were with me, our party would have turned out way more fun. Maybe because of their absence I felt a bit more worried… About the future.
As I sat there, tuned out of the conversation my grandmother was having with her sister, I wondered - what will it be like, to live in the twenty first century? What changes would a new millennium bring to the world? What would those changes look like for me? At six, these thoughts felt quite overwhelming, and yet exciting at the same time. I kept thinking - how did I get to be born right in time to greet the New Year 2000?!
I stared at the blinking lights on our Christmas tree and wondered, who will I become? Will my dreams come true? Can they come true? Will I get to be happy? Will I get to do what I love? Will I get to have the freedom to explore and discover the vast world around me? Will I travel? Will I ever get to live in the United States? Will I be brave enough to stand out and be unlike the rest? Will there be any significance to what I create?
As unlikely as it may seem to have such thoughts at 6, I do remember thinking them, and now it feels like I am traveling back in time. I can see myself sitting there, wondering. As I visit with my 6-year-old self, I have some really great news to share with her…
Dreams do come true and they always have and they will continue to, just like in fairytales.
Everything I dreamed of in my childhood days - from being painted like those beautiful ladies I saw from hundreds of years ago in the museums to being on TV like the performers that I watched on that New Year’s Eve - came true, just as I Imagined it.
Anything that was said to me by adults and peers that felt discouraging and frustrating had nothing to do with me; instead, it was about them. And I have let all of that go.
I feel Happy every day, and when I feel sad, I find happiness in knowing that nothing lasts forever, and that too shall pass.
It is possible to love and accept my body just the way it is, despite what anyone feels, thinks or says about it. I have found that Unconditional Self-Love and I am never letting go of it.
I get to do what I love because I am in touch with my feelings, and when something stops feeling good or right, I have the Power to change it because I am Creating my experience in life, not merely observing and reacting to it.
I have the Freedom to express myself because I have accepted that being true to who I really am is more important to me than validation or pleasing others - and I get to help others become more free through being an example of standing in my truth.
I did get to move to and create the life that brings me joy in the United States of America; I have traveled far and wide, visiting countries like Egypt, Turkey, Cuba, Dominican Republic and Mexico… With more Adventures always looming on the horizon!
I trust in the value and significance of my Purpose because I have found a way to surrender my attachment to results while embracing the Intuitive Guidance from within that leads me toward being of service to humanity and the world in which we live.
As I hold the image of the beautiful child that I was at six, full of wonder and curiosity, I feel so much love. We have come a long way, and it feels so exciting to be on the brink of yet another decade, filled with anticipation for what’s to come.
I feel so much gratitude for you, sweet 6-year-old Katia! Keep dreaming. Keep imagining. Keep believing. Listen to your heart. Trust your feelings. Trust your intuition. The world awaits your joyful creations.
This new millennium is about to get really awesome!