Live With No Regrets
"I'd like to have tried..."
"I wish I had learned to..."
"I regret not taking that vacation to..."
" It would have been nice to spend more time with..."
You've heard these before right? You've probably even used these a time or two during casual conversation, not thinking too much about them in the moment but maybe later, when you're alone, these phrases crawl back to the forefront of your mind. These are our regrets, the things that our hearts desire but are nothing more than dreams because reality stepped in and shamed them into hiding in our shadows.
Reality and I don't really like each other. We tend to bicker with one another and more often than I'd like to admit, we come to blows (no my wife's name isn't reality just to be clear.) I have a problem facing the fact that life is all about spending my youth going to school just to spend my middle ages struggling to pay bills and to make others rich. I can't wrap my mind around how in my pre-mortal life that I would agree to such nonsense. I mean come on, someone comes to me and says, "Hey, Brandan, I know of a great place to spent eighty years of your life. It's beautiful. There's large oceans full of all kinds of sea creatures (some of them are delicious) and there are tall mountains bursting with critters large and small (some of them are delicious too) and the whole place is your playground. The only problem is that you'll have to spend most if not all of your time working for others and pretty much living six feet away from another guy that will have every bad habit that will annoy you. So do you want to go?"
"Yes of course! You had to ask?"
None of that makes sense to me. What was I thinking? Obviously I don't know the answer to that but it does bring me to the point. We should be here to enjoy ourselves and be happy. I don't want to be wasting away in hospice and thinking about all of the things I didn't do because I held myself back. I would rather be disappointed that I ran out of time to do something rather than because I was afraid of doing something or because I had to work. I want to show my kids everything I can right now, while I can because for one, I want to see and do these things and two because it gets harder and harder for the everyday person to do these things. It's hard for us to get out their and do things because of the real world and it's only going to get harder for the up and coming generations.
I know I sound crazy but all of us should take every chance we can to experience life. Have you ever wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle but were too afraid to get on one? Sure it's a scary thought, you can die but will you regret it later? How about something safer like golf? Ever wanted to try it? I did. It's hard as hell and I love to play it (and I still really suck at it.) It's a game that no one will ever master because each day and each swing is different. There are no constants (other than cussing) when playing a round of golf. My wife wants to try scuba diving. The thought of all the things that can kill me in that situation is paralyzing but should I let that hold me back (maybe) hell no. If I'm meant to die underwater than bring it on. I sure don't know how it's all going to end but I for one want to look back and say that I had a helluva ride.
Yes the real world holds us all back. We still need to make a living to keep ourselves in a home and to give us the ability to have experiences but we need to make it work for us. I can't tell anyone how to do that. I'm still trying to figure it out myself but try not to live with regrets. Find a way to take that vacation. Get out with the family, especially the ones you don't see that often (guilty) because they can be a regret too. Go sit out under the stars in the middle of nowhere just to see how tiny we are in this universe. I don't know, find something you want to do and do it. We are about to make a huge and scary change around here and our emotions are on a roller coaster ride like we've never ridden before and in the end I know we won't regret it. I'll get into that another day but for the time being I'll just encourage you once more to find something, anything you want to do and do it. After that, find another thing and do that. No regrets later. See you on Friday.
Brandan
"I wish I had learned to..."
"I regret not taking that vacation to..."
" It would have been nice to spend more time with..."
You've heard these before right? You've probably even used these a time or two during casual conversation, not thinking too much about them in the moment but maybe later, when you're alone, these phrases crawl back to the forefront of your mind. These are our regrets, the things that our hearts desire but are nothing more than dreams because reality stepped in and shamed them into hiding in our shadows.
Reality and I don't really like each other. We tend to bicker with one another and more often than I'd like to admit, we come to blows (no my wife's name isn't reality just to be clear.) I have a problem facing the fact that life is all about spending my youth going to school just to spend my middle ages struggling to pay bills and to make others rich. I can't wrap my mind around how in my pre-mortal life that I would agree to such nonsense. I mean come on, someone comes to me and says, "Hey, Brandan, I know of a great place to spent eighty years of your life. It's beautiful. There's large oceans full of all kinds of sea creatures (some of them are delicious) and there are tall mountains bursting with critters large and small (some of them are delicious too) and the whole place is your playground. The only problem is that you'll have to spend most if not all of your time working for others and pretty much living six feet away from another guy that will have every bad habit that will annoy you. So do you want to go?"
"Yes of course! You had to ask?"
None of that makes sense to me. What was I thinking? Obviously I don't know the answer to that but it does bring me to the point. We should be here to enjoy ourselves and be happy. I don't want to be wasting away in hospice and thinking about all of the things I didn't do because I held myself back. I would rather be disappointed that I ran out of time to do something rather than because I was afraid of doing something or because I had to work. I want to show my kids everything I can right now, while I can because for one, I want to see and do these things and two because it gets harder and harder for the everyday person to do these things. It's hard for us to get out their and do things because of the real world and it's only going to get harder for the up and coming generations.
I know I sound crazy but all of us should take every chance we can to experience life. Have you ever wanted to learn how to ride a motorcycle but were too afraid to get on one? Sure it's a scary thought, you can die but will you regret it later? How about something safer like golf? Ever wanted to try it? I did. It's hard as hell and I love to play it (and I still really suck at it.) It's a game that no one will ever master because each day and each swing is different. There are no constants (other than cussing) when playing a round of golf. My wife wants to try scuba diving. The thought of all the things that can kill me in that situation is paralyzing but should I let that hold me back (maybe) hell no. If I'm meant to die underwater than bring it on. I sure don't know how it's all going to end but I for one want to look back and say that I had a helluva ride.
Yes the real world holds us all back. We still need to make a living to keep ourselves in a home and to give us the ability to have experiences but we need to make it work for us. I can't tell anyone how to do that. I'm still trying to figure it out myself but try not to live with regrets. Find a way to take that vacation. Get out with the family, especially the ones you don't see that often (guilty) because they can be a regret too. Go sit out under the stars in the middle of nowhere just to see how tiny we are in this universe. I don't know, find something you want to do and do it. We are about to make a huge and scary change around here and our emotions are on a roller coaster ride like we've never ridden before and in the end I know we won't regret it. I'll get into that another day but for the time being I'll just encourage you once more to find something, anything you want to do and do it. After that, find another thing and do that. No regrets later. See you on Friday.
Brandan