Lately I have been reflecting quite a bit on the past. In some cases, I am trying to refresh my memory before the images of years gone by simply fade away into obscurity.
And while seeking my way during my life’s journey, I have taken some turns off the path of the straight and narrow and have made some poor choices that I wish that I could go back and change.
Introspection is good for the soul, and while I know that I cannot rewrite history that does not eliminate the feelings of regret for what might have been.
The chronicles of the past are committed to the archives. And while I cannot alter them, my life story is still a work in progress and I have control over the final chapters. And hopefully, there will be many more of them yet to come.
And I can guarantee that there’s going to be one doozy of an ending!
Photo "Murphy Station" is the autobiography of David Donovan. I was privileged to provide the cover photo for the jacket!
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Richard we have all make some wise and taken some not so smart curves. Everyone has. Everything that was suppose to happen along the way did with casual speed. Right on time. Your life is not over and do the things you have not done, make amends for those regrets. People, relationships not things and being happy now not "if", "when" keeps you centered, balanced.
Richard, All those wrong turns contribute to who we are today. If we're wiser for the errors, then maybe they weren't so bad!
Funny thing for me the further away from things of the past I get I see that they all happen for reason and work for my good!
HA! I can't erase the memories of events in the past that I would love to forget. My children will always remind me.
Richard - In the past two weeks I have attended two funerals...that gets you to thinking about life and the future!
Andy...
I know that we all learn from our mistakes, but sometimes I just sit and wonder ... "What if?" Thanks so much for the comment.
Bliz...
And if we don't learn from them, well then we have no excuse!!! Thanks for jumping in early this morning.
Chuck...
Life can be a hard teacher sometimes, but those are the lessons that stick with you the longest. Thanks you for the comment.
Lenn...
They are bad about that. We used to say "like a broken record" but the younger generation has NO idea what that means! Thanks my friend.
I am a brilliant, fascinating, empathic person today because of all those earlier errors. And like you, I have a doozy or two in my future!
Richard, don't be too critical of the past it has a lot to do with how we turn out in the future the key is learning and growing from past mistakes and missed opportunities.
Richard,
Woulda, coulda, shoulda. No regrets. They just suck the life out of you.
Rich
Richard, your last name is so relative of your post. Learning from your past, which helps to shape the future, you will be much "Weisser" for it.
Good morning Richard,
All those past events whether positive or negative impact the person you are today! I hope I can slide into the closing chapter experiencing all life has to offer with no regrets!
Richard....everything happens for a reason....even the bad decisions that we've all made in the past....something good always resulted from them, at some point.....
Oh, those introspective moments, but as the other, wiser people who commented before me said, even the whoppers help to make us who we are today. And if you like that man, you are in business!
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
All of the wrong turns took me to where I always belonged, right here.
We learn from our mistakes hopefully. But, remembering the mistakes in the past can also keep us humble
Thanks for sharing, Richard. I don't think it's necessary to forget the mistakes, but rather to let go our attachment to the deep feelings they sometimes generat. Those 'mistakes' now are 'opportunities' that led you to become who you are if you were able to learn something from them. How can you tell something is not a mistake if you can't tell it from the correct course of action?
The best advice I was ever given. . break the rear view mirror of your life and charge ahead!
Richard - we should use are past regrets to help us plot the course of the life we have left so that we have fewer regrets going forward.
I try not to look back with regret. It only changes the moment your in and make it bitter. Everything happens for a reason, so look back with that in mind.
Now you got me thinking. I sure would like to rewrite things I have done. Ouch that hurts Richard.
Our regrets will also help us advise those with less experience of the correct path to take. Too bad we don't always listen to the advice of our elders. Thanks for another great post Richard.
Hi Richard, Having recently gone thru some big changes in my life, I fall back on what I have always eventually been able to see to be true - Every 'bad' thing in my life has opened a door to something better. With the exception of the loss of loved ones, I've always been able to look back and say to myself, Ah! Now I see where that was leading me... and it's all good.
Every choice is an opportunity to learn. Somewhere I read you will repeat the same lesson until you learn from it.
Yes, the older I get, the more reflective I get. I am trying to use what I have learned from the past and apply it to today. However, the bad things in my life are part of what got me to my wife and our beautiful daughter. So they must have had some good purpose.
Richard, with the past let sleeping dogs lie. Do not live with regret. Just regret going forward if you don't do the things you want to do. Work on the present and the future. The past is GONE !!!
Richard there's a book in all of us. Whether it makes it to the coffe table edition is another story. But the story never stops developing (even after death).
Richard, what you've done in the past has gotten you here, and what you do now will form your future. It's all good.
In one of life's bizarre coincidences ... my wife came downstairs early this morning with some old photos of us while we were dating and shortly after we were married.
I had not spoken with her, and I just hoy the "publish blog post" button as she came down the stairs with the photos.
I told her :you're not going to believe what I just blogged about!" Obviously we share some cosmic physic connection!
Richard, Sometimes you think you can have a doozy of an ending. But what I'm finding out first hand is that the ending will usually come without any notice. Here today, gone tomorrow. Live accordingly.
The other week I came seconds away from my ending. Just a little not paying attention while driving. I would have just been another traffic accident fatality and life would have continued without me.
Just some inspiring thoughts to think about. :)
The best advice I have? DON'T RUN FOR PUBLIC OFFICE! Then not only you - but the whole world will know what you've done wrong! ;-)
Seriously, Richard - thanks for your honesty and openess. Think of it this way: we learn much more from our mistakes and failures than we ever do from our successes!
Hang in there, my friend!
mary!
Tim...
Well I for one am glad that you're still here!
Richard - I know, believe me, I know. Hindsight is 20/20. We made the best choices we could given what we knew at the time. All we can do is move forward. Unlike Lenn, I don't have children to remind me, so I don't have to look back. Hah! (Did Lenn copyright "hah"??? Maybe I made another big mistake.)
You think of the things that would have not happened if this or that had not sent you down an unexpected path ...and then end up aok with the whole journey.
I have been doing the same recently. My mother says that we shouldn't look back. She says it more eloquently in Spanish but she has so many different stories to tell you to never look back.
Richard - Hard to un-ring a bell. If I have fingers and toes coupled with synaptic impules and a good attitude, I have a better chance than most. Gotta love the journey. Cheers to your's
Would I change a few things in my past? Absolutely! But what's infinitely more rewarding and exciting is the moment that's in front of me right now, another opportunity to succeed, to inspire, to be exactly where I'm supposed to be.
I wouldn't change anything... even my most painful and embarrassing moments... if it meant that I wouldn't be right here, right now. I looked at my little boys, sleeping, a little while ago, and there is no way I would risk that.
Now, going through that crap again? I don't think so, and it constantly colors the choices I make now.
Richard, I have also made many a mistake in life. Interestingly, had those choices been different, I would not be in this place right now. And this place, it pretty darn good.
"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates
Richard:
My most recent goal in life is to not create any future regrets. It is quite a challenge.
If you were thinking of your life as a move, and you are the writer, there is nothing stopping you from changing your script. Sometimes even subtle adjustments to characters change the plot. You could add bonus chapters, intrigue and adventure. It really is up to you.
History isn't always what happened, it is written by someone who wasn't even there about what they think happened. What do you want to happen?
If you were thinking of your life as a move, and you are the writer, there is nothing stopping you from changing your script. Sometimes even subtle adjustments to characters change the plot. You could add bonus chapters, intrigue and adventure. It really is up to you.
History isn't always what happened, it is written by someone who wasn't even there about what they think happened. What do you want to happen?
If you were thinking of your life as a move, and you are the writer, there is nothing stopping you from changing your script. Sometimes even subtle adjustments to characters change the plot. You could add bonus chapters, intrigue and adventure. It really is up to you.
History isn't always what happened, it is written by someone who wasn't even there about what they think happened. What do you want to happen?