There is a way of judging the past self that is harsh — the earlier version seen as the failure, the mistake, the lesser. The judgment is common, and it is wrong.
The person you are is the latest version — built from the versions that came before. The earlier versions are not the failures; they are the foundation. The version that did not know, the version that erred and the version that learned — each was necessary, and the record of them is the becoming.
The version as the building
The person is built in the versions, and the versions are the building.
The current self is the accumulation — the knowledge of the earlier versions, the skill of the practice, the judgment of the experience. The version is the building: each earlier self contributed something that the current self stands on. The version that seems lesser in the hindsight was the necessary step, and the step is the foundation. The building is the versions, and the versions are the construction.
This is why the versions matter: they are the building, and the building is the foundation.
The harshness of the hindsight
The hindsight is harsh, and the harshness is the misjudgment.
The hindsight sees the earlier version with the later knowledge — the error that the later self would not make, the choice that the later self would not take. The harshness is the misjudgment: the earlier version did not have the later knowledge, and the judging of the earlier by the later is the unfairness. The harshness is the forgetting of the context, and the forgetting is the misjudgment.
This is why the harshness matters: it is the misjudgment, and the misjudgment is the unfairness.
The necessity of the earlier
The earlier versions were necessary, and the necessity is the path.
The version that erred was the version that learned; the version that did not know was the version that discovered; the version that failed was the version that found the way. The necessity is the path — the earlier versions were the route to the current, and the route is the becoming. The person could not have become the current self without the earlier selves, and the without is the impossibility. The earlier versions are the necessary, and the necessary is the path.
This is why the necessity matters: it is the path, and the path is the becoming.
The learning of the versions
The versions are the learning, and the learning is the record.
The change log of the life records what each version learned — the mistake that taught, the failure that formed, the discovery that changed. The learning is the record, and the record is the wisdom. The person who reads the versions is the person who sees the learning, and the seeing is the understanding. The versions are the learning made visible, and the visible is the wisdom.
This is why the learning matters: it is the record, and the record is the wisdom.
The gratitude for the versions
The earlier versions deserve the gratitude, and the gratitude is the acceptance.
The version that struggled carried the person to the current; the version that erred taught the lesson that the current knows; the version that was lost found the way that the current walks. The gratitude is the acceptance — the honoring of the earlier selves for the work they did, the struggles they bore and the paths they found. The gratitude is the person’s peace with the past, and the peace is the acceptance.
This is why the gratitude matters: it is the acceptance, and the acceptance is the peace.
The becoming as the continuing
The versions continue, and the continuing is the becoming.
The current self is not the final version; it is the latest — the version that will be seen by the future self as the earlier. The becoming continues: the current version is the foundation of the next, and the next is the becoming’s continuation. The person who accepts the versions is the person who can become — who is not trapped in the harshness of the past and is open to the next version’s building. The continuing is the becoming, and the becoming is the life.
This is why the continuing matters: it is the becoming, and the becoming is the life.
The honest conclusion
The versions of you that came before are the foundation of the version you are, and the foundation is the becoming.
The version as the building, the harshness of the hindsight, the necessity of the earlier, the learning, the gratitude and the continuing — the earlier versions are not the failures; they are the necessary steps, the accumulated learning and the foundation of the current.
The person is the latest version, and the latest is built from all that came before. The version that erred taught, the version that struggled carried, and the version that was lost found the way. The gratitude for the earlier selves is the acceptance, and the acceptance is the peace. The becoming continues — the current version is the foundation of the next, and the next is the life’s continuing. The versions are the record of the becoming, and the becoming is the person — built, version by version, into the self that is now, and the self that is still to come.