Regrets or Revel, Choices You Choose
Choices, we make them every minute, of every hour of every day of our life. Good, bad, beneficial, destrutctive, they are ours to make.
I have made poor choices in my life, we all have. I do believe however, that some of my poor past choices have given rise to educating myself or others in what not to do in the future. So, past negative experiences can be positive, if a person learns by them.
Maturity, and life experience guides us to make wiser choices a we journey through life...hopefully. I myself have learned that drinking a pitcher of beer on your seventeenth birthday is not a good decision, especially when you have to work in an ice cream shop the next day. My choice to sneak into a bar with an older friend, drink myself into oblivion was foolish. My older brother recognized what was happening when I was throwing up all night. He informed me that I had to go to work, because if I didn't, he would tell my parents that I was suffering from alcohol abuse, and not the stomach flu. I chose to go to work. It was awful. My head hurt, I was nauseous, and I felt unwell. I did work my eight hour shift, and walked home. I of course fell into bed when I arrived home. But, thanks to my brother, I learned the consequences of my poor choices the night before. I only needed to experience a hangover once to never need to do it a second time.
What about the ones who continue to make bad choices? Not because of mental illness, but simply because they are scared of change. There are so many people doing just that, because they don't know what else to do, or what life may bring if they choose a different path.
It's true, you don't know what lies ahead if you go in a different direction. It could be worse, but it could be better. It may be the answer to prayer you have been seeking, it may be the change you need, it might not. If it isn't, there's always another option, and another, and another...you will never know unless you try.
I read an interesting fact a while ago. Dying patients in a hospice were asked what their biggest regrets in life were. Surprisingly, they weren't mistakes they had made, like extra marital affairs, spending too much money, not working hard enough, etc. No, it seems their biggest regret was what they didn't do, or try. Wow, that was powerful to me.
It got me to thinking about my mom's last week's before she died. We talked for hours in the night, she couldn't sleep, talking helped her feel more at ease. She told me the same thing. She said "I regret not hugging you more, and telling you how much I love you. I regret not helping you more when I saw you struggling, but I thought it would make you stronger. I see now it didn't, it only made you hurt more. For that, I am so sorry." Hearing those words come out of my mom's mouth, was like healing salve on a wound. It gave me comfort and solace.
Regrets about choices made, are real. That being said, you can say you tried and failed. Regrets about choices not made, are a tragedy. You can't even claim that you failed, because you didn't. You need to have tried, to have failed.
Life is about choices. Choices don't define who we are, but they do reflect where we've been, but better yet, where we can go.
I have made poor choices in my life, we all have. I do believe however, that some of my poor past choices have given rise to educating myself or others in what not to do in the future. So, past negative experiences can be positive, if a person learns by them.
Maturity, and life experience guides us to make wiser choices a we journey through life...hopefully. I myself have learned that drinking a pitcher of beer on your seventeenth birthday is not a good decision, especially when you have to work in an ice cream shop the next day. My choice to sneak into a bar with an older friend, drink myself into oblivion was foolish. My older brother recognized what was happening when I was throwing up all night. He informed me that I had to go to work, because if I didn't, he would tell my parents that I was suffering from alcohol abuse, and not the stomach flu. I chose to go to work. It was awful. My head hurt, I was nauseous, and I felt unwell. I did work my eight hour shift, and walked home. I of course fell into bed when I arrived home. But, thanks to my brother, I learned the consequences of my poor choices the night before. I only needed to experience a hangover once to never need to do it a second time.
What about the ones who continue to make bad choices? Not because of mental illness, but simply because they are scared of change. There are so many people doing just that, because they don't know what else to do, or what life may bring if they choose a different path.
It's true, you don't know what lies ahead if you go in a different direction. It could be worse, but it could be better. It may be the answer to prayer you have been seeking, it may be the change you need, it might not. If it isn't, there's always another option, and another, and another...you will never know unless you try.
I read an interesting fact a while ago. Dying patients in a hospice were asked what their biggest regrets in life were. Surprisingly, they weren't mistakes they had made, like extra marital affairs, spending too much money, not working hard enough, etc. No, it seems their biggest regret was what they didn't do, or try. Wow, that was powerful to me.
It got me to thinking about my mom's last week's before she died. We talked for hours in the night, she couldn't sleep, talking helped her feel more at ease. She told me the same thing. She said "I regret not hugging you more, and telling you how much I love you. I regret not helping you more when I saw you struggling, but I thought it would make you stronger. I see now it didn't, it only made you hurt more. For that, I am so sorry." Hearing those words come out of my mom's mouth, was like healing salve on a wound. It gave me comfort and solace.
Regrets about choices made, are real. That being said, you can say you tried and failed. Regrets about choices not made, are a tragedy. You can't even claim that you failed, because you didn't. You need to have tried, to have failed.
Life is about choices. Choices don't define who we are, but they do reflect where we've been, but better yet, where we can go.
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