Another Duh-piphany
This morning I had a slight stirring. It was that old familiar (dangerous?) feeling of wishing my life had gone differently up to this point. What if ______? What if _____? What if _____?
Sometimes when that feeling breaks over me like a wave and I don’t want to be swept away into a dangerous place, I hold on to something I once heard a priest say on a PBS show. When he was asked if he ever regretted his decision to enter the priesthood vs. living a life that included marriage, sex, having kids, etc. my memory of what he said is, “Every time you say ‘yes’ to something, you are saying ‘no’ to something else.”
Another duh-piphany for me.
At my age, finally growing up is not a pretty sight. But I’m very grateful to have the chance.
Hope you're having a great day.
Flip
4 comments:
I also have my WHAT IF days,
Then I remind myself that people make descisions based on what they are know at that time. Even if it were possible to turn the clock back you would make the same descisions. Sometimes I feel better if I think like that, sometimes not.
I like what the priest said.
When I'm all by myself, and my mind starts to wander, the WHAT IFs are always lurking in back of my mind. And there hard to ignore.
Try to look only forward, man. While you can't change the past, you have the opportunity to shape your future. Don't lose sight of that.
I used to do the "what ifs" religiously... thinking about the whole "butterfly wings" analogy and how one small decision or incident can affect everything. But then it hit me that I'll never know the answer and it's not worth thinking would could have happened because it would depress the hell out of me.
And like Drew says, look forward... and take down that rearview mirror. If you do choose to look back behind you, don't look back too far.
Thanks for reminding me to keep looking forward. I've always thought I rarely had regrets, but now I'm realizing that it's more likely they are just an item in the "Things I'm in Denial About" category.
Have a great week you guys.
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