There are many things from my past I often dwell on. It’s a habit, good or bad I am not sure, but I camp on seething little thoughts… “Would or should I have done something differently?”
Decisions made or better yet, decisions not made, which is really a decision… but they all end up at the feet of one big question: where would my life have ended up if I had done things differently?
There was a time when I almost bailed out of Bible College and joined the Navy to be a Chaplain. The sea has called me since the days of childhood, with a deep inner rolling voice. Then, for those that know about me, flying… it’s the art, science, majesty, and ability to drop away from the good green earth and join life from above, where sunlight and starlight dance and mix.
Do I regret never being an airline pilot or a man of the sea? Both for sure are demanding mistresses with many rewards and many, many costs.
No, I don’t regret it.
I am blessed to be the age I am. Yet, I can tell in my body that years have passed and things I took for granted, even just 10 years ago, aren’t the same. But one thing I know for sure… if I have a real, true, deep soul regret… it’s letting the negatives, the fear, and yes even then downright real bad things that happen in life take me away from the moment.
Those who know my story know, just like you, I’ve had some tragic difficult paths to walk, but by God’s grace, I am still here. Even with some of the momentous emotional roller coasters, I’ve let too much go to the fear, worry, doubt, and the fourth ugly cousin, ‘dread’, in my life.
I think of my life with the measurement of time, and if I start the mental calculations of how much time has been wasted on worry and fear about something that never came to pass, I hang my head in shame. The hands-on that clock has wound and counted too much time, for sure. I have become painfully aware, since my son hit his teen years, how everything I say and do gets in some form, repeated. It’s pretty difficult to watch your own mistakes replayed in the theater of your child’s life; watching from a front-row seat. I have begged God to deliver him from these.
- Don’t lose the ‘now’ for anything.
- Don’t let the ‘immediacy and mediocracy’ of the ‘group think’ take you away from the now.
- Don’t look to the future for a better day, do EVERYTHING you can create a better day now.
- Don’t give away your life to something that has less substance than air.
How many ways can I say it… live the moment you are given to its FULLEST.
One of the ways to easily cherish and make the most of the moment is through our relationships. These will last the test of time which can be a rugged, potholed road.
Don’t waste a moment forgetting to tell a loved one how much they mean to you.
Don’t let the little things get in the way of embracing the depth of connection we all have.
Lean into the fact that everyone in your life, for good or not so good, has a purpose… just like you do for them.
Learn to cherish these moments… trust me, they will never come again.
Peace on your Journey this Week.
